The Huntress
by Octoberskys
Summary: Follow the life and adventures of Captain Vanessia and her squad of asari commandos. Things are not always as they seem.; especially with these four lovely Huntresses.
1. Chapter 1 The New Recruit

**A/N: **This story came to me after playing with my "dream team" of asari commandos on Mass Effect's multiplayer one night. It all stemmed from a single scene of seeing one of my beloved commandos become mostly dead. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

**The Huntress **

**Chapter One: **

"Wave ten successfully completed," a masculine voice announced over the loud speakers of the multiplex. The rubble-strewn battlefield consisted of various buildings and ramps that offered excellent cover for frontal assaults in addition to providing key sniper positions. Various thermo clips stashes were strategically placed throughout the tactical training facility. The detailed structure included ladders to move between building levels, which were useful for quick escapes or unexpected ambushes.

Huddled together by a thermo clip cache that overlooked the holographic Firebase: Giant scenery were three asari commandos, discussing the day's training exercise. Surrounding them were the ruins of Tuchanka, part of their current drilling simulation. The eldest commando placed a hand on the shoulder of the youngest asari in the group. "Good job today."

The younger asari was not as satisfied with her performance as her squad leader. As the senior asari spoke, her dark blue commando uniform with a striking purple underlining highlighted her sublime physique, which spoke louder than her words. The simple two-toned outfit commanded attention, further intimidating the new recruit.

Despite how the newest member felt about her own performance that day, the huntress smiled and spoke with great encouragement in her words. "I mean it. You did very well today, Shayla."

The maiden slowly lowered her green eyes to the crumbling ground below them. "I don't think I did very well. I hardly did anything. You two did all the work. I barely fired a shot." replied the newest recruit.

The sympathetic huntress remembered her first day, with her first squad, some two hundred and seventy years earlier. Shayla's slightly uncomfortable posture gave away her inexperience as the huntress gave her a quick once-over. Gently, she lifted the young asari's chin with a single finger and said, "Don't be silly. You would not be here if you were not worthy of the position." The sadness and doubt in the young huntress's eyes remained. "Besides, that is why we are here; to teach you to become one with us. To think and act as one cohesive unit." The third asari commando, who was only hundred years older than the new recruit, spoke adding her own encouraging words as she patted the youngest squad member on the back. "Don't worry, Shayla. You'll get the hang of it."

A warm smile stretched across the captain's face as she offered, "You did very well today, for a rookie. I was impressed."

Still not wanting to accept her meager performance for more than what it was, the recruit addressed her superior officer. "But Huntress Vanessia, I only hit a few targets. I barely did anything."

Recalling when the battle had become too hot and heavy for only three asari instead of a well-balanced team of four, Vanessia replied, "Well those few targets really helped. This is a tough course as it is, and to be down a commando makes it even harder." She looked to her other squad member for support. "The fact that we made it to wave seven with just the three of us is very impressive indeed."

"Yeah, even harder with one so inexperienced," Senari, the third member of the squad, added.

Huntress Vanessia shot a stunned glare in the direction of her subordinate. Attempting to take the sting out of the thoughtless remark, the huntress caressed Shayla's cheek with the back of her hand in a tender yet encouraging manner. "It's okay. You're one of us now. You are doing fine."

The annoyed gaze was not lost on the other huntress, and she corrected her innocent statement. "I mean, you did really well, for never working with real commandos before." A heavy exhale and slight head shake from the squad leader indicated to the junior commando that was not the right response either. "Shit! I'm not very good at these sorts of things. What I mean to say is... for someone who has never worked with **us** before, you did real good, kid." The commando looked back to her superior to see if her last statement had sounded any better.

"Okay, Senari, I think you got your point across." Huntress Vanessia provided the youngest asari a reassuring smile. "You should be proud of the job you did today. We actually completed seven waves without help. If it had not been for our krogan friend over there volunteering to help us, I doubt we would have made it any further," the squad's captain said, giving a sideways glance at the krogan that had joined them very late in the seventh round to assist them.

Senari kicked at imaginary dirt below her feet, muttering under her breath. "Even if he was _late _and didn't arrive until the _seventh_ round..."

Knowing the young commando was also disappointed at their score for the day, her squad leader stated, "Senari, we needed his help, even if he isn't asari."

Three pairs of eyes focused on the krogan, who was standing near an open area by himself doing imaginary head butts. His thick armor was a bright colored blue that pleasantly clashed against his medium auburn skin. The large hump of a head, only accented to the asari commandos how ridiculous the krogan looked practicing his head butting technique. "Uuugh!" echoed off the large walls as the krogan intently practiced.

Laughing, Vanessia said to her youngest commando, "Well, that only proves how good you were, Shayla. Three commandos at any pace would have had a hard time with this map. It was designed for a team of four."

Senari sarcastically announced her verbal displeasure at the non-asari warrior. "I mean, look at him. All he does is head butt. That has to hurt."

"He was very good, Senari. Especially good for a krogan. We might not have finished without him. So, you should you cut him a break."

The asari maiden frowned and fiddled with her precious scorpion side arm. "I guess so, but I still don't know why he does that thing with his head."

The older matron gave a reproachful shake of her head. "Sometimes I wonder if you like anyone who is not an asari."

Frowning, Senari's head shot up with a mild expression of defiance. "Don't bring up those humans again. Goddess!"

"You've met a human before?" Shayla's voice filled with a hint of excitement, and she gazed at Senari with bright eyes.

Senari's expression changed from one of defiance to one of embarrassment.

"I thought you were especially curious of those_ female _humans if I recall," Vanessia teased. When Senari did not reply, she could see that she was razzing her junior a little too much after the long day they had, and dropped the subject. "Okay, okay! I'll leave it alone."

Addressing the incomplete squad, Huntress Vanessia suggested, "We should head over to the landing zone now to catch a ride back to the station."

As the trio started towards the LZ, Vanessia attentively rested her hand on Senari's shoulder, silently asking for forgiveness. When the junior asari cracked a smile, the huntress knew that all was pardoned.

Knowing she could not stay mad at the woman who had been her idol since joining the squad, Senari asked, quickly switching gears, "Where did you find the krogan, anyway?"

The commando slipped back into her authoritative tone of voice, abandoning her previous motherly tone. "He is a pilot instructor. Shayla knows him. I guess they go back a couple of decades. He just happened to have a few days of layover at the station, so I invited him to participate."

"Well, I guess he is pretty good; especially for a _krogan_," Senari admitted grudgingly. The senior huntress shook her head and placed her hand on the maiden's back that floated tenderly down her spine as the threesome moved across the great plaza. Knowing that krogans were superior fighters much like the asari, the huntress pondered just what defined a great warrior. While the asari infiltrated and used guerilla tactics to achieve their objectives, the krogan were straight up combat fighters. Both were very good at what they did. It was a sight to be seen when the asari and krogan occasionally decided to fight together. If they could only let the past go, the two species fighting side by side would be nearly invincible.


	2. Chapter 2 A Krogan, Mother Hen & A Gun

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Two: A Krogan, A Mother Hen and A Gun, Oh My!**

The next morning brought a new simulated tactical training scenario. Today's exercises focused on working as a team even while physically separated. The squad leader had purposely chosen the easiest map to practice, a drilling base called Firebase Dagger on the planet Ontarom. The map consisted of two enclosed catwalks that were connected by a communications tower. Below the front of the comm tower were four larger platforms, properly labeled one through four from left to right. Behind the comm tower was another metal grated ramp that led down to a dirt courtyard nestled between platforms one and two. The courtyard, although highly visible and very open, had multiple waist high concrete barriers and pipe structures that provided excellent cover and useful ambush positions.

The widely spread battle zone was an excellent exercise to hone their skills working as a team, while still completing their independent assignments at the same time. This sequence would demonstrate how a lone soldier, or even two, could easily become overpowered if they tried to clear out the dirt courtyard alone, but if the strategic hideout was attacked from multiple locations at once, with a sniper offering cover fire from high above, victory was possible. The veteran huntress and her team were counting on just that.

. . .

Dressed in a flamboyant, rich lavender and blue camouflage uniform that accentuated the fearless young huntress' physique, Senari scanned the shuttle. "Where's the krogan today? He not coming?"

Hanging on to the bar over her head as the shuttle rattled and shook, the squad leader addressed her seated team. "He took an earlier shuttle. He wanted to get there before us."

Senari rebelliously crossed her arms and feet, leaning further back in her seat. "He probably wanted to practice some more of that head butting thing he does."

Although it was not her intention, the statement caused the occupants of the shuttle burst into laughter, including the shuttle's pilot.

. . .

Shayla's inquisitive voice asked, "Hey, Senari, where did you get that weapon you were using yesterday? I want one!"

"What this old thing?" Senari chimed, holding up her sidearm like an old rag doll she carried around for shits and giggles.

Knowing the conversation that was about to come next, Huntress Vanessia rolled her eyes as she exited the shuttle. "Here we go again," the matron muttered.

Soft green eyes glistened in the early morning sun as Shayla stared at the magnificently compact weapon. It was a white, smooth sleek pistol that was light weight and easy to handle. On both sides of the pistol was an unusual oblong ammo chamber that glowed a luminous teal that gave the weapon its unique and sophisticated look. The upper section of the trigger protector had a foreign symbol to the young recruit.

"Wow! I have never seen anything like that."

Peering innocently at her squad leader, Shayla asked, "Why don't you have one of those?"

_Here it comes, _Vanessia thought to herself. "It is, how they say, a hard weapon to come by." Glaring at the Senari for acting like the owning the weapon was no big deal, the senior matron added, "one has to actually die, before one can get their hands on such a formidable weapon."

"Why is it so hard to come by?" the new recruit asked.

The eldest huntress opened her hand, silently informing Senari to hand over the weapon in question. When the cocky huntress gave her captain the weapon, the senior asari slid her hand over the top of the barrel like one would caress a lover. With a quick, hard jerk, she chambered a new thermo clip. Slipping back into her knowledgeable matron tone again, Huntress Vanessia further explained as she admired the craftsmanship of the handgun. "Because the Scorpion pistol fires low-velocity, squash-head projectiles with a dual use. It has a high-explosive filler within the projectiles that contains an adhesive and secures the projectile to the target on impact. When it is fired onto any surface, it turns into a proximity mine."

"Okay," Shayla stammered, not quite sure what her leading officer had just said.

Respectfully retrieving the firearm from her superior, Senari simplified the answer for the confused asari. "It blows people up!"

"Ah!" When the young commando's glossy green eyes returned to normal, from being so envious she asked, "Do you have a name for it? I hear some people name their weapons."

"Yeah I do!" Senari said excitedly, and then shot her leader a solemn glance. "But Vanessia hates it."

"I don't hate it. It…. it just isn't very becoming of a respectable commando." With a deep sigh Vanessia continued, "but if you insist, inform her of your weapon's _name_."

Overjoyed with receiving permission to openly speak her gun's name, Senari grabbed her sister in arms by the hand. "Oh you're going to love this. I call it… One bad mother fucker!"

Glancing over to see the expression on her squad leader's face, Shayla understood why that wasn't a very becoming name from a long linage of asari commandos. Nevertheless, she could not contain the giggle that leapt from her chest at the overly crass name. When she was finally able to stop laughing, the young commando asked, "How did you get it?"

"Her great aunt who was a Justicar died, leaving it to her in her will," Vanessia revealed, stealing a bit of her junior commando's thunder.

Flabbergasted, "Your great aunt was a Justicar? Wow!"

Now greatly embarrassed, the young huntress wished her squad leader would finish the story for her as she nervously scratched the back of her crest. "Um yeah"

Feeling the need to save her commando from drowning in enthusiastic attention, Vanessia announced, "What our modest huntress is trying to say is that she comes from a rather long line of asari commandos. It is very prominent in her blood line. Both her parents, as well as her two aunts, were commandos. One of her older sisters is in the asari military, but she works on the Citadel as an intelligence officer rather than in the field like our dear Senari here."

"I should have known by your first name. It sounds so…..traditionally asari," Shayla admitted, pleased and a little cowed to be working with a squadmate that possessed such an illustrious heritage.

"Just treat me like everyone else, not my name sake and we'll be just fine, ok?"

"You don't have to worry about me, that's for sure," Shayla muttered, a little worried about upsetting her squadmate.

As she watched the pecking order being reestablished amongst her unit, Vanessia remembered when Senari first entered her squad. She had passed along a piece of advice that her own squad leader had given her years ago. _"Don't think your pedigree makes you anything special in this squad. You want a place among us, you have to earn it just like everyone else."_

_The young Senari's reply to the threat brought a smile to her captain's face. "You don't have to worry about that, I promise."_

"Okay, you two, let's go," Vanessia ordered, breaking off from her memories. "Head over to the comm tower. I am going to talk to the pilot about a pick up time."

. . .

The second youngest asari muttered as she felt her captain's skilled hands tracing the outside of her legs, checking that all of her clamps were fastened on her boots and fussing over her gear and uniform like a mother hen. "Already checked!" she protested.

Smirking at the mildly defiant remark, Vanessia pulled on Senari's waist strap a little too hard, causing the young commando to lose her balance a bit. The pair exchanged a mutually playful look before Vanessia continued her scrutinous inspection.

After defiantly rolling her eyes, Senari saw the confusion in Shayla's eyes at Huntress Vanessia's extensive examination. Like a broken record, Senari recited, "She is ultimately responsible for our well being. So, she likes to make sure we are…" she paused, looking slightly behind her as Vanessia secured Senari's weapon back on her shoulder, "locked and loaded; ready to go at a moments notice."

The lead huntress rewarded Senari's thoughtful insight with a stinging swat on her buttocks that made the young asari wince. "I must be done now," Senari announced, squeezing her butt checks in a futile attempt to ease the burning sensation.

Senari's assumption was confirmed as Vanessia began to thoroughly inspect her newest charge. Feeling the older woman's hands running up and down her body felt awkward at first, but the intuitive commando knew she would learn to find great comfort in the assessment before a dangerous mission. It would become the secondary boost of confidence she needed before a great fight.

"So, these checks really help?" the youngest asari asked in a meek voice as another hand slid down from her waist to her ankle.

Proudly answering for her captain, Senari boasted, "Never lost a commando because of it!"

With awe in her voice, Shayla asked, "You've never lost a commando before?"

The veteran's warm smile quickly melted, and was replaced by a sadness that almost frightened the young recruit. The huntress responded in a serious and deep tone that vibrated within her chest, "No, I have never lost a commando due to an equipment failure."

Shayla uttered an almost regretful "Oh" that sliced through the now somber air, as sad memories flooded the asari captain of those she had lost over the centuries.

Lightly patting the last buckle and strap on the young recruit, Huntress Vanessia refocused her thoughts. "Ok. Let's take our positions. You two know what to do." Ignoring Shayla's empathic gaze trying to convey her apology for bringing up such a painful past, the huntress swallowed hard and quickly put her past where it belonged; in the past. "I want to hear a lot of chattering out there today. This is a large map and it can be quit easy to lose track of where everyone is."

Like a repetitious nagging, Senari sarcastically recited, "A silent huntress is a dead huntress."

Moving past the moment of minor rebellion, Huntress Vanessia took the opportunity to get the last word in and asked, "Senari, are you chewing gum?"

Without hesitation, the confident huntress gripped her weapon. "No!"

The glowing purple and blue uniformed asari leaned in front of her newest squad member and spit out her gum, watching it fall to the ground below the metal grating so her squad leader couldn't see. At least she thought she couldn't see as Vanessia withdrew her sniper rifle and took point.

Knowing her young huntress well, Vanessia's smile returned as she positioned herself and her team. "Get ready for the first wave. And Senari, _work with_ the krogan, not against him. This is not a contest."

Senari stubbornly shouted back, "Yes, ma'am!" in the leader's direction, which only made the deadly huntress smile brighter at her pupil.


	3. Chapter 3 Overwhelming Heartache

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Three: Overwhelming Heartache **

"Senari! Senari!" shrieked the distraught huntress. Vanessia tore her way towards the last known position of her commando somewhere on platform two, leaving a slew of bodies in her wake. Panic filled her voice when the young asari did not answer. "Senari! I'm coming! Just hold on, I'm almost there." Obliterating the Cerberus agent that was towering over the young huntress' limp body, the protective asari painfully screamed, "NO! Senari!" But it was too late, as the young asari's sim life expired.

Seeing Senari, her Senari, lying there greatly disturbed the huntress, unexpectedly. As her eyes glanced over the purple and blue camouflage lying lifeless on the ground, it broke the asari's heart as she stood over her. Seeing the young commando lying down longer than it took someone to revive her was very unusual. In fact, the huntress could not recall the last time she remembered seeing Senari being anything more than slightly dead. Regardless of the oncoming enemies, the huntress feebly reached out to touch the fallen huntress. Frozen within the limitations of the simulated war game, Senari was unable to move or react. It was like she was actually dead.

Although her current location was not a strategic place to hide, providing little cover, the experienced huntress refused to leave her downed squad member. She instead stayed and held the position, risking her own well being to protect Senari's incapacitated body as a mother would protect her fallen child. As each swarming enemy fell around her, Vanessia wailed over the young huntress' body. "Senari No!" More rapid fire blasted away the foes surrounding the two commandos. "No! Senari, you can't die on me! You can't leave me!" The cries of the asari matron echoed in her ear peace as she sobbed over her charge. The veteran huntress' deep blue pureblooded eyes glistened as tears threatened to fall. "Please get up. Please get up! Senari!"

It was only when her last living commando was in serious trouble was she forced to abandon her young commando's lifeless body.

"Huntress Vanessia!" the young recruit shouted as loud sporadic gun fire followed the request. "Vanessia!" pop, pop, pop. "I need help! I'm surrounded! Oh Goddess, a phantom!"

Hearing the youngest commando's plea for help over her headset drove the huntress away from her downed charge. It was only when her survival instincts and centuries of training took over, that she heard her own teacher's voice in her head. _Save those you can, even if you must leave those you can't behind. _With a heavier heart than she thought possible, the huntress ripped herself away from her beloved Senari and quickly headed in the direction of her newest charge.

"Shayla! I am on my way, take cover until I can get there!"

Within seconds, an experienced Phaeston assault rifle shredded through the bodies of the remaining Cerberus soldiers. A single outstretched hand froze the slinky phantom in place as Vanessia's stasis gripped the deadly villain. Another well placed shot relieved the bobblehead belonging to the phantom from its body. Watching the lifeless droid slump to the ground, Shayla released a heavy sigh of relief.

"Thanks a million!" the asari commando said in welcome.

From the back ramp behind the two commandos came a near breathless krogan. "I came as fast as I could! I was buried knee deep in those nemesi." Looking very concerned for his friend, the mighty krogan asked, "Shayla, are you ok?"

Still trying to calm her nerves, the shaken asari answered, "yeah, thanks to Huntress Vanessia."

As the krogan excitedly recounted his version of the graphic battle that had just occurred to Shayla, the seasoned huntress started to visually take in the numerous bodies that surrounded the young recruit. The vast carnage that lay at her feet sparked a proud expression that tugged at the corners of her mouth. Leisurely kicking the remains of the android assassin before it disappeared as the game reset, Vanessia thought, '_she did quite well before she needed assistance.'_

Instantly, the senior huntress imagined that Senari would have been impressed as well. In a fleeting moment, her delighted smile turned sour as she remembered the paralyzed body of her other young huntress.

"Goddess Athame, Senari!" yelped the huntress as she raced towards the fallen commando in a flash.

Bewildered by how quickly the skilled warrior moved, Diesel asked his friend, "where is she going?"

"Senari went down," she answered the krogan in a choked voice, but the expression on her face that explained far more than her words did. "We couldn't revive her in time."

The mighty krogan warrior fought back his instinctual words of how it is an honor to die in battle. He knew the asari did not hold the same statues when it came to a fallen comrade. Although they understand the honor and privilege behind sacrificing one for the team, he knew the asari, being a squishy race, mourned their losses with intense emotions. He always attributed it to the asari being an all female race.

Very uncharacteristic of the krogan species, Diesel offered to his friend in a deep grumbling tone, "I'm glad this is only a training exercise then."

A booming voice echoed about the great plaza. "Wave nine successfully completed," it said, indicating that the computer-generated battle scenario was over.

Knowing that her long time friend understood their situation, the young asari blushed a bit before she smiled. Placing her hand on his shoulder, Shayla stated, "come on, we should get ready for the next wave."

A short distance away, the anxious huntress quickly returned to where her beloved squad member had fallen. With heavy breaths, the huntress watched as the young woman rose to her feet. Worried, but trying not to show it, the protective huntress asked, "Senari, are you ok?"

Nonchalantly wiping the make believe dust off of her snug fitting uniform, the confident three hundred and twenty seven year old woman replied, "yeah, I'm fine, even though I didn't even see it coming."

Struggling with not suddenly seeming overly concerned, the huntress asked, "what got you?"

Checking her famous sidearm, the scorpion, she pointed it at an imaginary target. The angry asari shot back, "That damn phantom! That bitch snuck out of nowhere before I could react! The next thing I knew, that witch was stabbing me with her sword."

The asari captain witnessed an apologetic look blanket the young commando's face that she was not used to seeing from the skilled warrior. "Sorry 'bout that."

Fighting to hold back every raw emotion that was tearing at her insides, Huntress Vanessia replied, "you don't have to be sorry, Senari. It was not your fault."

Frustrated, the young huntress stowed her pistol in the holster at the small of her back and stated, "I know. I'm just not used to... you know... getting in over my head."

Offering more than her sympathy, Vanessia caressed the young woman's check with the back of her hand as she reverently stated, "Senari, you are a fine huntress. One of the best I have ever seen." Staring endlessly into the green eyes of the young asari, Vanessia added, "You are going to make an excellent commando captain one day."

The confession caught the young huntress by surprise. She knew she had practically been the captain's shadow since day one, but she had never heard Vanessia address her in such a manner.

Knowing that her favorite study was nearly speechless, the asari captain blushed slightly before ordering, "We had better get up to the tower before the next wave starts."

A soft, bewildering "okay" floated off the young huntress' tongue before her feet shifted towards the circular stronghold.

Not another word was spoken as the two asari made their way to the comm tower. With every step back to the cat walk that connected to the comm tower, the senior huntress felt her heart pounding wildly inside her chest as imagines of her fallen commando replayed violently in her mind. She imagined the phantasmagoria of the phantom's sword actually piercing the bright leather suit of her asari huntress. The thought of actually loosing her commando, rather than her being temporarily downed in a war sim, pained Vanessia's heart. The seasoned asari's breath deepened and she found her chest constricting as fear ravished her internally.

At the top of the ramp on platform four, overlooking the drill's normal extraction point, the distraught huntress grabbed the younger huntress' arm, abruptly spinning her around.

"Senari," was the only warning the young commando received before she felt a strong hand reach around her neck, quickly pulling her into a hard, deep kiss with her captain.

Senari's eyes flickered open and shut at the sudden surprise. When the asari matron slowly released her from the deep kiss, the young huntress recognized the longing in her superior's eyes. It took the young commando, who had grown to know her superior very well over the last fifty years, since first coming to her squad, a few seconds to realize that the kiss was more than a passionate display of affection. It was one of hunger and want. A kiss one might receive from a lover after being separated for a long period of time. While the young maiden had received many pecks from her superior officer, this kiss felt very different, and was one of a kind. However, it was unclear exactly what that meant.

Swiftly recognizing the astonished expression that covered the young woman's face, the senior asari slowly leaned forward and tenderly placed her forehead against Senari's. The close proximity to her idol was almost more than the young asari could handle as her eyes shot wider, feeling the warm breath of Vanessia on her face.

In a sultry voice that further confused the young huntress, Vanessia's hummed, "I absolutely love having you on my team, Senari."

Still breathless from the smoldering kiss, the maiden whispered in the intimate moment between student and teacher, "I'm honored to serve you, Mistress."

Knowing that the others were waiting, the huntress broke the intimate embraced and motioned for her commando to walk ahead of her. A wave of relief poured over the senior huntress like a tsunami now that she knew her favorite commando was in fact very much alive. Feeling better, Huntress Vanessia asked, "ready for round ten?"


	4. Chapter 4 Beware of the Glowing

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Four: Beware of Glowing Things**

Later that evening, Vanessia sat in the mess hall playing with her barely touched plate of asari cuisine. She and her squad were back on the station that housed the drilling personnel visiting the training facility. The dining tables were sparsely filled, with various species respectfully keeping their distance from the asari trio. Unlike the asari, the other soldiers' strongest weapons were not physically interfaced as part of their bodies. For them, their formidable munitions were checked at the door.

Indifferently, the asari captain stirred her food with her utensil as the two other huntresses sat in silence; slowly devouring their dinner. Things had calmed down for the trio since landing at the station. When they first arrived, word quickly spread that the foursome was down a commando and was currently nursing a first year commando. Stupidly, this seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity for other visiting warriors to try their hand at harassing the asari huntresses. To many species not familiar with the superior fighting skills of the asari, they felt the blue goddesses were simply too petite and beautiful to be dangerous.

Of course, the experienced huntress ensured her team was well protected at all times. It only took one brave soul to test her patience, and she had sent a biotic pulse through his body with a flick of her wrist, ensuring he would not be able to pee standing up for a week straight. After that occurrence, word rapidly spread throughout the entire station. All it took was a quick flash of blue light, and everyone backed off. They weren't bothered again. It was only when Vanessia saw Senari checking out a female human here and there, that she silenced her threatening luminescent blue light.

There was once such awkward occurrence in which Senari had absentmindedly yipped at her squad leader for flashing her biotics longer than she wanted.

"Huntress!"

Turning around to face her squad leader, Senari slumped before pouting. "I believe I had caught her attention. _Had_ being the operative word." The young huntress frowned as she watched the human female make her quick escape down the corridor.

Confused at what she meant, Vanessia turned around and saw no such person in the corridor. "What? I saw no female."

"The person who was just standing there." Senari pointed at a large window a few meters from where they were standing. "You had to move to keep from bumping into her?"

Shocked, Vanessia questioned, "that was a female? But her fringe was so short. Are you sure it was a woman?"

Silently joining the conversation, the newest recruit also looked down the corridor at the 'supposed' female soldier. Shayla shrugged her shoulders at her captain also not seeing a woman.

The young huntress' hand slowly slid down her face as she inhaled impatiently. "Yes! It was a woman, and it's called _hair,_ not fringe. Oh Goddess! She was so looking at me too."

Smiling without much regret the huntress added, "If you say that she was a female, I believe you. It is just so hard to tell sometimes in those armored suits they wear."

Eyeing up the next human soldier that passed by, the youngest commando questioned, "is that why they move so slow on the battlefield compared to us?"

Vanessia chimed, "exactly," enthusiastic that her new recruit understood.

Not relinquishing her opinion, Senari quickly chirped, "well, they don't move so slow out of their armor, if you know what I mean."

The experienced huntress delicately placed the back of her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh that turned into a soft cough as she attempted to mask her surprise. Glancing over to her youngest huntress, whose face was now engulfed in a full shade of azure herself, the pureblood captain explained, "I do not want to know why you know that, Senari."

The older asari continued down the passageway, abruptly ending the conversation. The protective huntress did not want to find out if Senari was bluffing or telling the truth. It bothered her deep inside that Senari being a pureblood herself, would venture away from anything other than an asari, and did not want to know either way. "Come along, girls, we have work to do."

A soft rapping of knuckles on the table in front of her brought Vanessia back to the present. A pair of green eyes stared at the huntress when she heard a soft, caring voice. "Are you ok?"

Wrenching her neck from side to side, Vanessia inhaled slowly and answered, "sorry, Senari, dear. I am fine. I just have a lot on my mind at the moment."

Not quite sure if she believed the matron or not, Senari felt there was little she could offer the huntress to relieve her of her distracting thoughts.

The seasoned veteran slumped her head heavy into her hand as her elbow rested at the edge of the table. Her opposite hand fiddled with the fork that delicately rested in her grip. The concerned huntress studied her mentor a moment more, pondering what was ailing her, when an angelic voice sliced through the stale atmosphere like a breath of fresh air.

"Hhheeellllllooo beautiful!"

The fork in Vanessia's hand dropped immediately, almost as fast as her head spun around to see the individual belonging to the voice. The asari's heart was pounding rapidly before her eyes ever made it to the intended destination.

"Contessa!" hollered the asari huntress. "You returned a day early!"

Within a beat of her heart, Vanessia had scooped up the new asari in her arms regardless of the other occupants in the hall and planted a smoldering kiss on her lips.

Trying to force air back into her excited lungs as well, the slightly younger asari matron purred, "I missed you, so I had to come back from Thessia a day early."

Planting hot, indiscreet wet kisses on her neck, Vanessia declared, "I am - so glad - you're back."

The tall, physically fit asari coiled in a silky lavender skin tight dress relished in the attention the asari was giving her. The new arrival giggled as she felt her feet and her floor length dress lift off the ground a few times as the huntress lathered her with affection. A sultry voice whispered in Vanessia's ear, "I am glad to be here as well."

Glancing back at the dinner tables the libidinous huntress asked, "did you eat?"

Contessa answered, "Yes on the shuttle here. Why?" curious at the odd question.

Picking the woman completely off the ground, the huntress mischievously smirked as she quipped, "um, no reason."

Practically being carried out of the dining hall, Contessa hollered over to the two seated commandos. "Hello Senari, good to see you!"

Feeling her weight being shifted further onto the veteran huntress, Contessa spoke to the remaining commando. "You must be the new recruit. My name is Contessa. It is nice to meet you." Rounding the corner of the dining hall, the asari politely called out. "We will have to talk more later!" The woman's laughter filled her chest at being so indiscreetly removed from the room. "I have to go now!"

Playing with the remains of her dinner, Senari looked over to Shayla. "Well, we won't be seeing them for the remainder of the night."

Confused at what she had just witnessed and what Senari had said, Shayla inquired, "what makes you say that?"

Chuckling, the maiden replied. "Trust me. I know." Picking her tray up to properly dispose of it, the huntress asked, "so, you want to catch a vid?" Turning back around to remove Vanessia's tray as well, Senari stated, "I hear they are playing the Blasto. It's supposed to be pretty good. Well, for an elcor vid."

Knowing she would welcome any distraction over her imagined less than average performance for the day, Shayla happily answered. "Yeah, but can we invite Diesel too?"

Grimacing, the older huntress stared helplessly at the younger squadmate's pleading eyes. Feeling like she was about to drag an unwanted little sister with her to a senior prom, Senari reluctantly answered, "sure, bring the ogre along. What could it hurt?"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

**A/N: **This is for all my friends on my asari "dream team". The names have been changed to protect the guilty. All characters in this story are real people. Thank you Senari, Shayla, Diesel, and Contessa and myself, Vanessia for keeping me entertained.


	5. Chapter 5 Welcome Back

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Five: Welcome Back**

Bodies and legs entangled while lips and fingers passionately flowed over rich azure skin. Fierce grunts and pleasurable moans filled the room with complete desire and longing. For much of the evening it was hard to distinguish where one asari started, and the other stopped. As one lover physically dominated the other, the soft touch and adoring looks of the other ultimately prevailed in the end.

Mid way through one of their many phases of making asari love, the senior huntress, lathering her lover in sensual kisses abruptly stopped. Studying her off and on again lover, Contessa suspected that Vanessia was holding back a painful emotion behind those deep blue eyes. Vanessia's body continued to shut down as she sank down onto the stomach of the other huntress.

Somehow feeling the pain of her captain, Contessa tenderly cupped the huntress' face fondly. "What is it my love?"

Trying to shake the sickening feeling, Vanessia slowly lowered herself to her side facing her lover. Gently caressing her lover's face, the asari captain raggedly exhaled, "I should not burden you with such sadness."

A greatly concerned expression from her lover informed the senior huntress that she was not getting out of sharing her troubled thoughts.

"You know you burden me with nothing." Contessa stated. Pulling her lover's gaze to meet hers, the asari huntress added, "what, I can share in our victories, but not in our sorrows?"

Knowing better than to try and conceal anything from her best friend, Vanessia broke down and with a heavy heart and uttered, "oh Goddess Contessa. You should have seen it. Seeing Senari lying there, unable to revive her..."

Embarrassed, the veteran commando sat up turning away from her lover, angry that she had felt such strong emotions over a simulated war game. The tragedy greatly bothered the squad leader. "It was just so horrible! I wanted to scream! I wanted to mourn her!" Spinning half way around to look at her supportive lover, Vanessia apprehensively admitted, "I knew it was just a stupid sim game, but I couldn't leave her body. _It felt so real_. All I wanted to do was protect her fallen corpse."

Falling helplessly into her lover's arms, Vanessia wept, "I.. I just couldn't leave her. It was so awful."

Feeling the huntress' tears soak the blue skin of her chest, Contessa offered, "oh beloved, That is what makes you an excellent squad leader."

A few moments later, Vanessia lifted her head and confessed, "I feel so ashamed, I was just hovering over her. I couldn't leave. I wouldn't leave!"

Anxiously rubbing her forehead, the asari captain worried, "I can only imagine what the new girl must think of her new squad leader. She must think me a nut." A skeptical laugh erupted from the huntress' chest. "She probably thinks I'm related to an Ardat Yakshi or something."

Pulling her lover's hand away from her hiding her face, Contessa explained, "I am sure she does not think that dear."

Staring at lover's light blue eyes, Vanessia rebutted, "you don't know that!" Mortified, the huntress rolled onto her back, covering her head with a pillow in frustration, "Goddess, what Senari must have thought of her old goat of a leader standing over her like that."

"What? You were unable to hear her?" Confusion blanketed the four hundred and fifty two year old huntress' face.

Under the muffled pillow, the squad leader explained. "No. She was having problems with her headset. We were unable to hear her at all."

"Really? Did you not check their equipment before the mission?"

When the pillow violently ripped off the huntress' face, at the mockery of Vanessia's obsessive gear and uniform checks before each mission, Contessa stifled a chuckle at the woman's typical reaction.

The concerned lover and friend then slowly peeled away the guilt ridden asari's hands from her rich blue pureblooded eyes. "Vanessia, you can't think that way. You know she worships the ground you walk on."

Languidly sitting up, Huntress Vanessia meekly asked, "you don't think she freaked?"

Another amusing chuckle escaped Contessa's lips at Vanessia usage of the younger asari's word, 'freaked'. Brightly smiling, the huntress placed a chaste kiss on Vanessia's lips. "No my love. I do not believe she 'freaked'."

Moving to the edge of the bed so her feet could dangle off the side, the huntress sighed deeply. "I just felt so horrible, seeing her lying there. Goddess Athame!" Slowly uncontrollable tears steamed down the asari captain's face as she stared vacantly up at the ceiling. "I have never felt so helpless."

Feeling her heart breaking as well, Contessa gently stroked the bare skin of Vanessia's back. The gentle touch was her way of letting the asari captain know she was there for her, but allowed her the space if needed.

The mature matron tentatively licked her dry lips and swallowed what she felt like was her pride, before she hesitated. "Will you leave the squad?"

An unconscious chortle quickly erupted as Vanessia's responded, "Oh Goddess no! Just because I have no idea what to do, does not mean I am going to quit. I am not ready to pull a Claire."

The older huntress moved closer to her slightly younger lover and explained, "Claire was ready to leave the squad and get bonded; she wanted daughters more than anything." Vanessia laughed at the memory. "Sometimes I thought she came out of the womb wanting babies."

Knowing the young couple that Vanessia was speaking of, but unsure of all the details, Contessa asked, "exactly how long have she and Nerys been together?"

"Well Claire came to my squad just after they built the Frontier Space Station, so almost two hundred and sixteen years."

"Oh that long? Wow!"

"Yeah, well at first neither were ready for commitment since they were so young when they met. I think Clare was around two-forty when they were first introduced at secondary commando school."

"Have you heard from her lately?"

Despite the heavy burden on her shoulders, Vanessia smiled. "Yeah I have actually. She is pregnant."

"Already?"

"Already? They became bondmates over a month ago."

Surprised, Contessa's light blue eyes widened, "but it has only been a month."

"Are you kidding? I am surprised they waited that long. They have been talking about lots of blue babies for the last seven years it seems. Claire kept saying 'after more mission'."

After reminiscing about Vanessia's former squadmate, that left an opening for her newest recruit, Shayla, an ominous silence filled the room.

Sitting in the quietness for a few moments, the worry lines gradually returned to Vanessia's brow. "Anyway, I can only imagine what Senari must think of me now."

Gently tugging at her lover's arm, Contessa asked, "what are you not telling me?"

Fear crept over the asari captain. Afraid of what reaction might come from her solitary lover of the last decade, Vanessia confessed, "I kissed her."

"So? You kiss her all the time. That is what compassionately astute squad leaders do. They build emotional ties with their squad."

"Not like this kiss."

A small look of concern crossed the younger asari's face. "What do you mean?" Contessa asked.

"Well.. I…. I think I kissed her like she had risen from the dead."

The matron gingerly placed a hand on the center of the captain's back, causing her to turn around and look her in the eyes. "Do you think you might have stirred up some emotions you were not aware you had for her?" Vanessia's lover whispered after swallowing hard.

"Like, are my feelings for her stronger than I imagined?" The huntress contemplated the idea for a moment before answering. "I have adored her since the day I laid eyes on her."

Smiling at the memory of the huntress captain attempting to behave like a bad ass in front of the recruit. Contessa grinned, "I know. I was there, remember?"

Tickled by the memory of that day, Vanessia recalled, "she was beaming with light and confidence. She seemed so fearless."

Cuddling against her lover's shoulder, Contessa disclosed, "I will let you in on a little secret. It is because of you, that she is fearless. She knows that with you by her side, there is nothing she is not able to overcome."

"Did she tell you that?" The huntress asked, pleasantly surprised.

"Not in so few words, but yes." Affirmed the lover.

Dropping her head down at the thought of it, the huntress exclaimed, "Oh Goddess! I think I do." Blindly staring into the distance, Huntress Vanessia admitted, "I believe I have much stronger feelings for Senari than I thought possible. It was only after I saw her lying on the ground that I truly felt it. I felt her loss and how it affected me. She has been such a good commando. I can not remember the last time she was down for the count before someone could get to her."

Breaking the moment of silence, "you understand I have never pressured you" replied the melodious feminine voice of Contessa.

A soft and meager, "I know" answered the commando lover. Taking the woman's hand in hers, Vanessia kissed the back of her pale blue skin. "And I thank you for it."

Hoping for a shred of evidence that her gut feeling of losing her asari captain as a sole lover was slipping away, Contessa posed a hard question for her. "Do you think she noticed the kiss was different?"

Oblivious of her lover's feelings on the subject matter, Huntress Vanessia quickly shot back, "Are you kidding? This is Senari we are talking about! She is sharp as a blade. She doesn't miss anything."

"Have you spoken to her about it yet?" The gracious asari asked, still trying to support her friend, squad leader, and lover in any way possible.

Sulking rather than being the honorable commando she was, the huntress spat. "No!"

Affectionately stroking her huntress' crest, Contessa exhaled. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Take me out back and shoot me!" Declared the veteran asari.

Smiling lovingly at her beloved captain, the younger matron replied, "you would like that too much." Making another large circle around the asari's face, Contessa stated, "You know what I am going to make you do, do you not?"

"You are not going to make me talk to her, aren't you?" The huntress all but whined.

Beaming that her lover knew her all too well, and aware that it was for the best, Contessa hummed, "precisely," then placed a loving kiss on her cheek.

The frown melted into a smile of relief. "Will you come with me?"

Contessa was stunned that Vanessia would even suggest such a thing. "Do you really think that wise?"

A meager and sad, "yeah" answered. "I think I would like that."

"We shall see my love. We shall see."

Eagerly, the asari captain tackled her lover back down onto the bed. "You are the best Miss Contessa of Thessia. You know that right?" Vanessia enchantingly announced.

Not wanting to waste the time they still had together, Contessa replied, "of course I do, but if you would like to further educate me for the remainder of the night, it is quite possible it would be well received."

Vanessia slipped into a sultry manner as her eyes poured over the beautifully sculpted form of her lover. In a husky tone, the huntress purred. "Oh would it now?"

Long nimble fingers reached around the captain's neck, pulling her down into a hungry kiss that answered the woman for hours to come.

…

In the early hours of the next morning, Huntress Vanessia stared at the sleeping beauty at her side. Tenderly tracing the frame of the sleeping woman with her long skilled fingers, the huntress confessed her inner feelings. "After seeing Senari lying there, made me realize, she was not the only one I have been suppressing feelings for." A small smile tugged at the supposed sleeping face. Knowing that her lover was taking in her words, the older huntress placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I love you Contessa."


	6. Chapter 6 Confessions & Aching Bodies

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Six: Confessions and the Aching Bodies **

The next morning after breakfast, Huntress Vanessia and her lover, Huntress Contessa, pulled the young asari, Senari, to the side. They had just finished getting ready in their suite for the day's training. The youngest commando, Shayla, had rushed off to the loading docks to say goodbye to her friend Diesel. His layover was over and he was returning to his normal flight duties. The asari squad had greatly enjoyed his fighting abilities, and his personally was a real treat... for a krogan. Vanessia had extended him an open-ended invitation, saying that he was free to return any time during their training. After the few days they had worked together, Vanessia was already starting to miss the mid air krogan melees.

Senari shifted a bit uneasily in her boots as Vanessia approached her, with her off and on again lover close by. The young asari, who had received and greatly enjoyed the kiss from the other day, was expecting the worst. However, the experienced huntress knew how to control the situation, and started with some small talk to calm the young commando, discussing Contessa's trip and Shayla's fighting abilities.

When the veteran huntress sensed that Senari was feeling more comfortable, she brought up the kiss and how she felt about seeing her young squadmember downed. Contessa stood silently by her captain's side, listening to every word her superior uttered.

"So, Senari, I was wondering if you would like to share our bed tonight?" asked the five hundred and eight year old huntress, as casually as if she were discussing a topic as insignificant as the weather.

The confident and sophisticated Contessa coiled around her captain's arm as she spoke. Internally, the younger matron was torn about the pleasurable proposal. She, like Vanessia, had come to adore the young huntress, but was not very fond of the idea of sharing her favorite lover. The sultry matron's fingers slid down Vanessia's blue leathered arm as she anxiously awaited the young huntress' response.

"Senari, you have come to mean a great deal to me." Looking to the asari on her arm, Vanessia added, "to us." The woman speaking then lifted her flexed bicep and placed a tender kiss on the back of Contessa's hand.

Not wanting to suppress her lover's desires, Contessa nodded in agreement; warming up to the idea of the sensual engagement.

Shell shocked, the young commando's jaw dropped. Attempting to answer the seemingly towering matrons, Senari stammered, "I … I.. can't believe it. You want to have sex with me?"

Scowling at the common name of the pleasurable experience, Contessa retorted, "Well you don't have to make it sound tawdry."

Not allowing the proposal to become a bigger deal than it really was, Vanessia prodded, "Is that a yes or no?" The veteran asari already knew the girl's answer before she lightheartedly teased, "I don't have all day, huntress."

"Oh Goddess, yes! More than anything! You have no idea what that would mean to me," beamed the young woman.

"Good, tonight then?"

"Absolutely!"

Turning her gaze to Contessa, who had tightened her grip around her limb, Vanessia asked, "Does that work for you?"

The enchanting huntress returned, barely above a whisper, "Of course, huntress."

…

An hour into training, a booming voice echoed throughout the training grounds, abruptly halting all activity.

"Huntress Vanessia, please report to the systems operator. Huntress Vanessia report to the systems operator at once."

Her second in command was the first to ask, "What is that about?"

The huntress answered Contessa's question. "I have no idea. Maybe they are upset about the marine I gave a little singularity shock to."

Stunned and worried, the second screeched, "You did what?"

Unsympathetically, the huntress answered, "It was not a very big one." Vanessia then rolled her eyes knowing Contessa would not have approved of the retaliation against the man. She would have found a more suitable way of settling the conflict. Vanessia affectionately pondered the thought. '_Contessa would have talked the man to death by her profound words. Or_,' as Vanessia chuckled, '_bored him to death_.'

Walking over to the pair with her teammate, Senari quipped. "He totally deserved it."

Also remembering the relentless advancements from the man, Shayla offered her opinion, "I have to admit, he was not taking her verbal warnings seriously."

The privileged asari was afraid that Vanessia had already influenced the new recruit to act, before calmly handling the situation as she gradually released a deep sigh. "If you say so."

Placing a knowing hand on her shoulder, Vanessia replied, "Contessa, my dear, I tried using words, but they had no effect. Besides, what would be the purpose of asari commandos if we only used our words?"

"I'd be out of a job!" Shayla announced, triggering the rest of the squad to erupt in laughter as well.

"Right you are." The asari captain said, enjoying the deflection of yet another prudent lecture from her lover.

Switching back into her commanding authority, Vanessia ordered, "Contessa, keep working with Shayla on offensive maneuvers, and I will be back as soon as possible."

In the spirit of the teasing, the alluring huntress snapped to, and provided a formal mock salute to her leader, "Aye Aye, Captain!"

Chuckling at the spectacle, Vanessia rolled her dark blue eyes before planting an endearing kiss on her second in command's cheek. "Very well, lieutenant" laughed the squad leader.

…

The asari captain strolled back into the battle zone about an hour later. An odd look of confusion enveloped her face, and Contessa knew Vanessia would only share her thoughts later; when they were alone.

Senari, being the first to speak, quickly asked, "What did they say?"

"We have been ordered to take mandatory leave." The huntress blankly stared into her lover's eyes. "It seems that the squad has made quite the impression during training. We have been instructed to go to Omega first thing tomorrow morning."

Senari erupted in excitement. "Omega! That place is awesome!"

Ignoring the speechless faces of the other two asari, Vanessia looked stunningly at Senari and questioned, "How do you know what Omega is like?"

Surprised at taking a few days off on such an erotic place, so quickly after joining the team, Shayla quizzed her squadmate. "Aren't you a little young to be knowing about that place?"

Under her breath, the asari shadily answered, "I've been around."

"Anyway, all the arrangements have been made. It will be an all expenses paid trip."

Waiting for the hoots and hollers to quiet down a bit, Contessa asked, "That would not happen to include a small shopping trip?"

Laughing, Vanessia replied, "Contessa, where you are concerned, there is no such thing as a 'small' shopping trip."

The clever matron retaliated quickly. "A girl has to look beautiful, you know."

Draped in royal blue leathers, the asari captain looked over to her young huntress. "I'm sorry, Senari, but this will interfere with our plans this evening. I hope you don't mind if we reschedule?"

Excitement and joy quickly replaced the disappointed face as Senari replied, "no problem. The two of you are worth waiting a hundred years to me. But visiting Omega will certainly suffice as an immediate slice of heaven."

Slightly blushing from the seductive purr of the young asari, Vanessia explained, "The trip will not be all roses. Well, for me at least. I will be spending a few hours filing status reports." Pacing absentmindedly, the asari huntress rubbed her forehead as she processed the new information. "One thing for sure, this little trip has officially interfered with our drilling plans." Scanning the faces before her, matron Vanessia announced, "looks like we need to cram a week's worth of training into one day."

The previous jubilation of the squad liquefied into passive grumblings.

Remembering the last time they 'crammed' drilling times, Senari groaned. "Aaaah shit!"

The sharp recruit understood her new superior all too well, and rhetorically asked, "We're in trouble, aren't we?"

…

Later that evening, the last running shuttle picked up the asari commando unit; even after Vanessia had begged for permission to have her team run at least two more drills. Being the last to enter the shuttle, Vanessia benevolently ensured that her exhausted and starving team made it safely onto the transport shuttle.

Flopping long ways onto the bench, Shayla began complaining. "Goddess, I am so tired. I think even my unborn daughters will be sore after today."

Senari fell hard onto the seat across from her, "by the Goddess Athame, I thought Vanessia was going to kill us for sure."

Double checking that the shuttle door was properly secured, Vanessia jested in a mothering tone. "Quit your whining commando. You think the great Matriarch Benezia's Commandos every whined after a hard day?"

Achingly rolling onto her back, Senari playfully bellowed, "You call that a hard day? I call it suicide!"

The huntress' hardened hand pounded on the inside of the door before she called out to the pilot, "All secure!" The exhausted captain staggered to the back of the shuttle and sat next to her second in command for some moderate privacy.

The resting asari slowly lifted her weary head and watched her commander take her seat. "I thought you told me that Shayla was really green."

"What do you mean? Isn't she?"

Contessa shifted her drained body to face Vanessia directly. "After what I saw today, she is anything but green."

"She is a quick study, is she not? I noticed that during her first days with us. I was truly shocked how fast she learned. It was almost like she had been with us for years." 

"Exactly," chimed the elegant voice. "Once she learned the basic maneuvers, she looked like a pro."

Beaming with pride, the seasoned huntress addressed Contessa. "She has a good teacher, does she not?"

The slightly younger matron blushed before she chuckled. "Well, I do try."

Hearing the aching moans of her two junior commandos, as the shuttle took off, the senior huntress then forced her stiff muscles to move so that she could face her lover. "What part of her performance most impressed you?"

"I really like that she covers your flank religiously."

Surprised by the statement, Vanessia asked, "Really?"

"Yes. The number of sleepless nights she just prevented me from having, is priceless. I cannot begin to express how happy that makes me feel, knowing she will always protect you."

Relaxing back into her seat, the asari captain offered up her shoulder so her lover could rest her fatigued head on it. Knowing that her favorite huntress was often concerned for her safety, Vanessia smiled. "Contessa, my dear, you worry too much."

Accepting the pillowing shoulder, the matron's arm snaked around Vanessia's until it came to rest on her lap. "It is because I adore you so, my love."


	7. Chapter 7 Truth & Consequences

The Huntress

Chapter Seven: Truth and Consequences

Entering the Omega luxurious hotel suite, specifically for designed for asari, Huntress Vanessia announced, "I need to find a secure line to file these reports." Lightheartedly teasing her team, the huntress added, "It will only take about an hour or two to file the first report. Anyone want to go?"

Inside the large chamber, the two maidens immediately started taking turns flopping down on the oversized circular bed like asari yearlings.

Taking another flying leap onto the deep feathered bed, Shayla probed, "What kind of reports?"

"I need to report that we have officially received you, how many rounds were used at the station, number of credits used, travel time and expenses, etc."

An amused and breathless Senari eager to go again, quipped, "So basically…" she pulled at Shayla's arm, gesturing that their next leap would be together, "in other words, B-O-R-I-N-G!"

Filled with laughter, the pair suddenly took off running towards the oversized mattress. Like a loving big sister, Contessa watched the two frolic in their new surroundings as she slowly made her way to the make shift landing pad. Under her breath, the elegant asari chuckled as she witnessed the two giddy commandos bounce on the bed.

Landing face first on the bed, Senari yelped, "Nope we're good. Thanks for the invite though."

Enjoying that her younger commandos were taking turns belly flopping on the bed, Contessa added a bit of caution for her lover. "Be safe out there Vanessia. It has been a while since you lasted visited Omega."

"Yes dear!"

Cunningly maneuvering herself to be the next to take a turn falling onto the deep down comforter of the bed, Contessa chuckled, "You are most welcome!"

Collapsing between the two younger huntresses on the luxurious cushion, Huntress Contessa began to tickle both girls, who were by this time, already gasping for air. To her great pleasure, their captain watched the three commandos giggling like school girls. 'Perhaps this was the right call after all. Oh how the Asari Republics work in mysterious ways.'

As Vanessia gathered her necessary belongs for the tedious task at hand, the room suddenly got even louder with hysterical laughter as the three huntresses continued to horse around.

Clutching the door handle behind her, Vanessia overheard Shayla yell out from the washroom, "By the Goddess! Check out the size of this bathtub!" Closing the front door, the squad leader heard her newest recruit exclaim, "Goddess, we could all fit in here!"

The senior huntress beamed as she headed down the hallway. 'Just you wait, my dear Shayla, a commando's life has many perks every now and then.'

…

About an hour or so later, Vanessia returned to the erotic suite. When she opened the door, all life in the room was still. The huntress slowly removed her omni-tool and satchel, gently placing them on the large crescent shaped couch. A few meters away was the large soft bed that had earlier served as a temporary trampoline. However, now it coddled the only other asari huntress in the room.

In contrast to the silliness when they had first entered the room, Contessa was now sitting quietly on the bed, working on one of her favorite hobby; a crossword puzzle. For the elegant asari, it was fairly simple to command her body to relax, but it was a far more difficult task for Huntress Contessa to still her mind; regardless of the numerous commando techniques she had learned throughout the centuries. She was simply too brilliant to just let her mind wander.

Feeling a great burden upon her shoulders, the asari captain sluggishly dragged her feet over to the bed and sat. Gently pulling her engrossed lover from her passion, Vanessia asked, "Where are the girls?"

Rolling over to face her lover, Contessa gathered one of the many queen-sized pillows and pressed it against her chest. "They were so excited to be on Omega, that they could no longer stand being trapped inside, so I sent them away." Attempting to relax her lover from the tedious task of paperwork, Contessa added, "Besides, I thought we could use some alone time."

When Vanessia uncharacteristically had no reaction at the mention of being alone with her lover, Contessa's heart began to sink. She had known her lover for nearly a hundred years, and instantly recognized the enormous burden hiding behind the pureblood's eyes. Catching the great warrior off guard, Contessa softly questioned her friend.

"What did they say?"

Puzzled, the huntress retorted with her own question. "Wait. How do you know I spoke with someone?"

Tossing the pillow aside, Contessa inched closer to her lover and tenderly stroked her solemn face. "I knew something was up yesterday. You normally file those types of reports on your omni-tool. To not have spoken about it in front of the squad, must have meant it was very important."

Not completely amazed at how intellectual her lover was, the senior matron replied, "You know I am unable to repeat what I was told."

An amusing laugh resounded from the younger matron's chest. "You know you cannot keep anything from me."

Laughing even harder, Vanessia retorted, "That is exactly what she said."

"Who said?"

"The council member."

"What council member?"

"The council member from the Asari Republics, whom I finished having a private meeting with only moments ago."

Astonished, the intelligent huntress imagined the improbable visit of an actual asari republic noble on such a dismal station. "What? Here? Are you kidding?"

Effortlessly dropping back onto the bed, Huntress Vanessia sadly confessed, "I wish I were. I have been informed that Senari is not who she says she is." The distressed woman propped herself up on her elbows before finishing. "In fact, absolutely nothing she has told us is true."

Huntress Contessa's normally refined voice stuttered. "W-what?"

"Yeah," staring even more astonished at her lover, "she is not even a real commando. The only thing she did not lie about was that she is an asari, and she knows how to handle a gun. Everything else has been a bold face lie."

The captain's lover gingerly stroked her face. "I am so sorry, Nessie. This must be horrible for you."

The wounded squad leader continued, still trying to make sense of it. "Senari is not even her real name. Hell, she even lied about her age; she is actually younger than Shayla."

Feeling a lump rise from the pit of her stomach, Contessa knew it was best to allow the huntress to talk out the disheartening situation. "What is her real name?"

"According the asari republics, it is Maudra Far'Kar." Stumbling on the name showed that the squad leader was still having a hard time believing all of the lies about her once beloved Senari. Baffled, Vanessia stood and slowly paced the room. With each troubling stride, the veteran huntress tried to regain her lost composure; to separate her emotions from her sense of duty.

Patiently waiting on the lavender comforter for her dazed lover to calm herself, Contessa anxiously gripped the edge of the bed and spoke in a hushed tone. "Where did this impostor hail from?"

"I am not entirely sure, but what I do know is that….that they…." Vanessia's voice trailed off as she covered her mouth to fight back the flood of tears. The distraught asari spun around and took another step closer to her lover and best friend, before dropping to her knees. Choking on her own unbelievable words, the seasoned huntress added, "They have issued an authorized kill for her."

"Oh by the Goddess" whispered the seated huntress. Unable to control her strong emotions for the young asari, Contessa faintly sobbed. "But she is our friend - part of our squad. No! She is family Vanessia!"

Struggling with her own tears, the senior huntress spat, "She is not family!" Angry about the situation and not at her lover, the squad leader instantly soothed her tone and regretfully continued. "She lied to us, babe." Vanessia tenderly took Contessa's hand in hers. "She lied about everything. That scorpion gun she carries; she practically killed a justicar for it. That is how the asari republic was able to locate her. There is not exactly an abundant number of those deadly pistols floating around." 

Seeing that her lover was physically taking the bad news worse than her, Vanessia once again sat on the bed beside her. The dominate asari wrapped her arm around Contessa, and pulled her into a comforting embrace.

It tore at the very essence of Vanessia's soul to continue. "She paid someone to distract the justicar while she drugged her; just so she could steal the pistol. But when the justicar fought back, Senari, or whatever her name is, stabbed her in the back; grazing the justicar's left lung."

Horrified, Contessa covered her mouth in shock and shame for having invited the maiden into her heart. "Oh by the goddess. Is the justicar ok?"

With the pad of her thumb, Vanessia wiped the tears from her lover's face. "Yes, but it will be some time, if at all, that she will be able to return to her duties."

Evaluating the assignment, the melodic voice questioned her leader. "Why was Omega chosen?"

"Evidently they think she is a runner, and wanted a Plan B in case she gets away from us."

Becoming a bit alarmed, Contessa tensed and lifted her head. "I am worried to ask, what is Plan B?"

Shifting nervously in her own boots, Vanessia answered, "Aria will take care of 'the problem' if she gets away." Seeing the stunned expression on Contessa's face, the confident asari then followed up her statement with, "But we both know, that she will not get away from us."

Very aware of Aria T'Lok's history, as all asari were, Contessa wondered, "Since when does the great Omega Queen work 'with' or 'for' the asari republics?"

Chuckling a bit, the pureblooded asari replied to her favorite huntress. "How funny! I asked the same thing, but of course, I was not honored with a straight answer. I was simply informed that Aria would ensure that the girl would not leave Omega alive."

Petting the outside of Vanessia's arm, Contessa tried to speculate. "I do not understand. Why would she help?"

Deep blue eyes stared endearingly into the lighter blue pools as Vanessia spoke. "I was told that although Aria follows her own set of rules, she is still an asari, and even she does not take kindly to someone brutally attacking a justicar."

…

A young asari, even if she had not been a commando, would have seen the absolute seriousness on the huntresses' faces as they explained the situation to the squad's newest recruit. The couple had successfully been able to pull the young Shayla aside while the impostor was showering. They were able to secretly divulge the bad news and enlighten the huntress of Vanessia's plan to do something about it. 

In the far corner of the room, Huntress Vanessia spoke in a hushed tone. "We have to kill her."

Remembering all that she had endured to become one of the elite commandos, Shayla released a deep throated growl from inside her chest. Knowing that the commando's sacred oath had been utterly violated, the young huntress spat, "I wanna slice that bitch's throat wide open."

Regardless of the rage threatening to burst from behind her deep blue eyes, Vanessia stated in a calm tone, "No! I am going to be the one to do it. This is my squad, my responsibility." Looking at the other two commandos, the asari captain conveyed, "You don't have to be there, if you do not wish to be. I will understand."

Sliding up to her lover's side, the other matron supportively wrapped her arm around Vanessia's waist. Barely glancing at her younger squadmate, Contessa answered for them both. "Sweetie, we will be there for you. That is what we true commando's do. You will never have to stand alone."

"Hell yeah!" shouted the young huntress before covering her mouth, forgetting that the spoken asari was in the next room.

Pride swelled within the huntress with the affirmation from her remaining squadmates. Huntress Vanessia quickly discussed her plan of attack and ended the conversation. "Alright then, let's get a move on. We are meeting her at Afterlife in a half hour."

…

Dark rhythms pulsated inside the dimly lit club as the commando leader scanned the facility for signs of her rogue huntress. Her rich blue eyes glistened across the crowded dance floors that swayed with life. Wandering about mindlessly, was a wide variety of species; mostly the shady type with which the asari captain was all too familiar. Across from the main entrance, seated at a private table tucked ever so discreetly in the corner of the club, Huntress Vanessia spied her deceitful commando. Instantly, Vanessia realized that the hidden table was no doubt compliments of Aria. A soft nod to the armed asari standing next to her indicated the location of the traitor.

"There she is. Follow me."

As instructed, Huntress Shayla followed her squad leader to the table; the pair made their way through the crowd trying to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. The commandos carefully approached the table; weapons stowed. 

With drink in hand, Senari spun around to face her fellow squadmates. Looking past the duo expecting to see someone, the fraudulent huntress asked, "Where's Contessa?"

Cautiously Vanessia offered, "Oh you know her. She is still getting ready. She likes to make an entrance."

The young asari giggled as she took a large gulp of her glowing green beverage. "I know right!"

A few awkward seconds passed before Senari began to sense that something was up with her squad leader. She had come to know when something wasn't exactly right with her mentor. Speaking to the two commandos, the young huntress offered, "Please, excuse my rudeness; have a seat."

Taking their seats, Senari noticed that Vanessia wasn't scoping out the place as normal and commenting on the clientele with great sarcasm. Hoping she was deeply wrong about the odd churning in her stomach, Senari decided to break the silence. "So Shayla, what do you think of the entertainment here?" Certain she would get some hearty laughs she continued, "When was the last time you saw so many bare asses? Commando training?"

Unable to resist, Shayla sternly retorted with a straight face, "Like you would know anything about commando training."

The impostor's smile disappeared as she slowly began to realize exactly what her squad had come to learn.

Vanessia and Shayla swiftly took to their feet and faced the phony commando. Hovering over the lonely table that separated them, Huntress Vanessia jaggedly spoke, "As you see, your little secret is out now."

The young asari's eyes quickly glanced between her two former squadmates as she contemplated whether to fight or flee. Believing that she had more fighting experience than her junior counterpart, it was when she eyed up her mentor that she felt for the first time, a tinge of fear race up her spine. Battling her asari captain was not something she wanted to do. Instantly, she made her decision and flipped the large round table over onto the commandos.

Pushing the table off of them, Huntress Vanessia watched as the young asari scampered across the room towards the exit with a good lead on them. Not allowing the angered maiden to reach for her sidearm, the experienced huntress, grumbled, "No Shayla, let her get out of the club. The less casualties, the better."

"But she's getting away, Huntress." Pleaded the young commando.

The veteran commando humorously muttered, "She won't be going anywhere."

Panting heavily from knowing what the senior huntress was actually capable of, Senari made her way to the closest side entrance. Pushing her way through the crowd, it was not long before the panic stricken asari made it outside. But her quick escape came to an abrupt halt just outside the door. Standing in the corridor, much like an ancestry statue, was a beautiful, lone asari commando standing all aglow. Blocking Senari's path, the woman's entire body shimmered in the electric blue lightning.

As sweet and as charming as the young huntress knew Contessa to be, the sound of her voice further unnerved the hypocrite.

"Going somewhere child?" The stunning huntress sinisterly hissed.

As previously instructed, Contessa allowed the maiden to escape, but the trio was close behind, as they corralled the asari traitor into a dingy back alley way that smelled of urine and filth.

Realizing that there was no escape, Senari pleaded, "It's not what you think, Vanessia! Someone hacked my information! Everything the republic has on me is a lie!"

During the girl's desperate reasoning, Contessa and Shayla's side arms never strayed from the accused commando. Unsympathetic to her pleading words, Huntress Vanessia gradually stepped closer to the maiden.

"I love you, Vanessia!"

When there was no change in her captain's forward progress, Senari glanced desperately in Contessa's direction and tried to persuade the veteran huntress one last time.

"I love you! Even more than Contessa does!"

Unexpectedly, the hardened asari's face melted into a loving and nurturing one; an expression Senari had often seen on the huntress' face while she tutored her. Without warning, Vanessia slowly lifted her left hand to stroke the tear stained face of her former subordinate. When Vanessia's blue eyes softened, the young asari felt a moment of reprieve. The experienced huntress then abruptly grabbed the chin of the asari twisting her body around to face the other commandos, exposing her tender neck.

"Look Shayla, this is what a traitor to her people looks like when she's scared."

Controlling the fidgeting asari in the crook of one arm, Vanessia pulled out a 20 centimeter blade with the other. Forcing the maiden's neck up, the huntress mercilessly exclaimed, "And this is what they look like when they die."

As the skilled huntress' blade sliced through the soft blue flesh, Contessa turned away at the gruesome sight as bright purple blood splattered onto the ground below. The stoic killer released the traitor's body letting it fall to the ground. Without looking down, the hardened huntress stepped over the body and walked away. No words were needed as her team followed her out of the dingy alley.

Huntress Shayla, was the last to join her captain's side, as she leaned over the corpse that was her bestfriend only hours ago, and spat upon the lifeless corpse.

"May the vorcha have their way with your body before they devour your remains."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

P.S. 20 centimeters is 8 inches long. Quite fitting if you ask me.


	8. Chapter 8 Special Announcement

**The Huntress Special Note:**

**A/N:** I apologize to all those who, like myself, had become very attached to Senari. However to my great sadness, I discovered that _she_ was really a _he,_ and had been lying to myself and the rest of my asari team for a very long time. This behavior, despite their great skill and cohesive fighting abilities, was completely unacceptable. So I had to do, what I couldn't do in person; I had to kill her. *wink* It's good to be me!

For all of you out there; be yourselves. The real you is far better than any fake persona out there. Had the person pretending to be Senari simply told the truth, we'd still be playing multiplayer with him.

Warning: Gamer Profile – Daughter of Skulls on Xbox is not a girl.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTT

**A/N:** I know that chapter seven felt rushed but I didn't want to waste another word concerning the liar. If I wasn't left feeling so betrayed, I would have written out the ending/excuse that Brownton provided in the reviews. Loved that idea… but sadly, I will not waste another second on that character.


	9. Chapter 9 Delayed Departure

The Huntress

Chapter Nine: Delayed Departure

Only stopping long enough to grab gear from the hotel room, Huntress Vanessia dragged her remaining squad to the station's docking bays. The stoic asari commando quickly convinced a flight attendant to get her team off Omega as soon as possible. Although the senior huntress would have called her aggressive negotiations, deductive reasoning, her second in command would have called it something more along the lines of an outright threat as Vanessia strongly suggested, "If you want to live to see tomorrow, get my team off this station tonight."

While the squad waited for the next available flight, the great huntress was unable to uttered a single word, as she secretly buried her pain deep within. Although once greatly cared for, Senari would no longer hold a place in the captain's heart. In fact, after this night, Vanessia would never again acknowledge or speak of the traitor again.

…

As the hardened warrior entered the shuttle, her remaining commandos moved about carefully, mindful of their emotionally wounded leader. Vanessia signaled her team to the far side of the cabin, where there were less patrons. Shayla, eager to assist her captain in any way possible, followed Contessa's lead and left her in silence. It wasn't until most of the passengers were on board the shuttle that the lead huntress spoke

Leaning over her seated charge, the senior huntress spoke in such a kind voice that it surprised the young commando.

"Shayla, are you ok?"

More concerned with her leader's emotions than her own, the huntress replied, "Yes, ma'am, I am good to go."

A warm smile stretched across the veteran's face. "Good to hear."

Vanessia gently prodded the asari to move closer to the window, and took the seat next to the young recruit. The senior commando then motioned for the lieutenant to join them. Her lover obligingly complied to the silent request, as she sat directly across from the other two warriors.

Just as the squad had begun to settle, two human males approached the trio, who were sitting in a row of seats that could easily accommodate six. Dressed as if they both belonged on Omega, one of them mustered the courage to speak to them. The sound of his deep raspy voice turned the captain's stomach.

"Hey - sexy ladies! Are these seats taken?" Asked the man as he waggled his brow, hoping it would actually entice the trio of asari.

A heavy boot quickly slammed against the seat across from the asari leader. The heel of her leather boot clutched the edge of the seat next to Contessa forming a blockade between the men and her squad. The clinching jaw of the asari indicating a very clear message to the men, who knew very well what a pissed off asari was capable of. An armed commando was not something they wanted to tangle with, much less three of them.

Tapping his mate's chest, the man grumbled, "I guess so." Accepting defeat, the men sluggishly moved to another location on the sparsely populated shuttle.

Without removing her foot, Vanessia then shifted back into the seat, ready for the long trip ahead. With a sideways glance to her newest commando, the huntress smirked and offered up her shoulder allowing Shayla to rest her head. Acknowledging the gesture of not only comfort, but acceptance as well, the young maiden happily positioned her head against the woman's shoulder. A subtle motion of Vanessia's head informed her lover that she wanted the younger matron to stretch out on the seat across from her.

With crossed arms, and fingers touching the hilt of her extremely sharp blade, that would be pulled at the slightest hint of trouble, Vanessia's eyes gazed over her two resting squadmembers. Just as the captain closed her eyes, Contessa peered up at her lover. She knew that the veteran huntress felt best when her squad was close. Watching Shayla shift closer to the warm body of her leader, caused Contessa to smile. 'Very close indeed.' Closing her own eyes, Contessa last thought, 'at least that blade won't be sticking me in the side this time.'

…

When the remaining occupants of the shuttle had finally settled down for the trip, an announcement came over the ship's public address system. "Um - passengers of Tango Flight 573, it seems that our flight has been temporarily grounded." The man's husky voice resounded with a twinge of frustration.

Hearing the broadcast, Huntress Vanessia slowly cracked open her eyes to a mere slit. Unable to speculate a reason for the delay, the veteran huntress briefly scanned the other occupants of the craft and found no legitimate reason for the postponement of their departure. No one of great importance was on board flight 573.

Upon completion of her survey, the senior huntress leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes and released a deep sigh. It had only taken a few seconds for Huntress Vanessia to deduct that it was her squad that was causing the delay.

Somehow sensing the distress in her lover, Contessa stirred from her would be nap. Slowly propping herself up on her elbows, the sleepy asari studied her captain seated across from her. Based on her deep sigh and the scowl on her face, the lovely huntress knew something was amiss. "Why have we not left yet?"

As Vanessia watched her lover rise, she felt the youngest huntress, snuggled on her arm, stir as well. Wanting to prevent her team from worrying, Vanessia repeated in a soothing tone, "The flight has been grounded."

Knowing exactly what was going through her captain's mind, Contessa yawned before uttering, "And you think we are the cause, don't you?"

Quickly glancing about the cabin again, the squad leader wasted no time no time answering, "Can you think of a better reason?"

The waking matron saw that her younger huntress was growing concerned at her leader's statement. Contessa slowly sat up and playfully tugged at Vanessia's boots. "You always think the worst, my dear." Trying to soothe the two asari with one proclamation, Contessa continued, "There must be some other reasonable explanation, my love. Honestly, you worry too much sometimes."

As a wave of relief washed over her, Shayla's heavy head immediately fell back to the seat. She felt the squad had been through enough in the last 24 hours; another problem was not something they needed; especially Vanessia. As soon as the young matron had fully relaxed, a second announcement boomed off the walls of the shuttle.

"Huntress Vanessia, please report to the cockpit."

As if they had been keeping score, Vanessia rolled her eyes at her lover visually stating, I told you so, as she took to her feet.

Inside the pilot's control station, an annoyed turian hollered at the asari, "Huntress Vanessia, there is a rather large batarian waiting for you outside."

Pushing herself off the door frame of the cockpit, the asari commando questioned the rude man. "Who is it?"

Mocking the deadly commando, the man bit back, "How the hell am I supposed to know? Did you girls forget to pay your tab or something?"

Already in a foul mood, the huntress summoned a small glowing ball in her left hand behind the man's back and secretly wished it was hurling its way towards the disrespectful pilot. The joyful thought left a large smirk on her face as she returned to the belly of the shuttle.

…

Moments later, the senior huntress stepped out of the shuttle and spied a lone batarian standing on the loading dock. He looked to be rather annoyed at having to wait for the asari. The summoned huntress unhurriedly approached the man with great caution even though her squad was close behind. Carefully sizing up the warrior Vanessia pondered, He looks to be greatly experienced, but not even the toughest batarian would take on a asari commando unit alone; even if we are down a huntress.

Confidently stating her deadly title, Vanessia spoke, "You requested the presence of a commando captain? I am Huntress Vanessia."

Turning around, the man commanded. "Someone wants to see you."

Not in the mood to deal with any nonsense, the squad leader retorted, "Don't waste my time batarian, who sent you? Do you know who we are?"

Stunning the asari captain, the batarian returned, "Yeah, the asari squad who had to put down one of their own."

Wary of knowing such privileged information, Vanessia instantly pulled out her assault rifle and pointed it at the soldier's head, but the man did not flinch. Only after the other two huntresses reached for their weapons, did the batarian turn his back on them, and grumbled, "Follow me, commandos. Aria T'Loak wants to speak with you."

Contessa gasped upon hearing the name and looked to her captain for her hypothesis as to why Omega's supreme ruler would want to see them.

Shayla was already mesmerized to be on the notorious space station, but now to be beckoned by its ruler was an entirely different honor. Swallowing hard, the young maiden silently pleaded, 'At least I hope it will be an honor.' The young huntress' eyes raced between her leader and Contessa for an answer. When she could see none, she whispered, "What does Aria want with us?"

The calm huntress motioned for her team to stow their weapons. Nodding to her second in command, signaling that she too was ready for what unknowns lay ahead, Huntress Vanessia evenly stated, "I don't know, but we are about to find out."


	10. Chapter 10 Here Comes Trouble

A/N: Apologies, there is a conflicting problem with the beta's software. Things that should be bold and italicized are not showing up on the final posting. My greatest apologies, we will try to work this out as soon as possible.

The Huntress

Chapter Ten: Here Comes Trouble

Huntress Shayla hesitantly moved forward to sit on the soft brown leather couch inside Aria's private lounge, when Vanessia shot back in a stern tone. "No thanks!" firing her subordinate a visual command, "We'll stand."

The cheeky gesture did not go unnoticed by the asari queen as she absentmindedly flopped one of her crossed legs up and down. In fact, the soft purple asari sat completely undisturbed as she faced the deadly squad of asari commandos. The music still boomed around them, Aria's private dancers kept swaying to the beat, and refreshments were left on the table; for those who were invited to dine on such heavenly pleasures. Omega's queen bee glared directly at the commando squad leader with piercing blue eyes.

Abruptly stopping her advancing progress, the young huntress flanked her leader's right side taking refuge slightly behind her. The bold asari captain stood defiantly in front of the asari queen in her typical no nonsense battle stance. Just as annoyingly as the veteran huntress waited for other squads to finish their training missions on Pinnacle Station, the asari captain stood with crossed arms and feet about shoulder length apart; head slightly tilted to one side. Shayla thought it was this intimidating stance that had often caused previous squads to rush the end of their missions, fear of what awaited them had they not gotten out of the captain's way.

A bit amused with what she thought was an over confident commando, Aria snickered, "Suit yourself."

Regardless of the presence of Omega's supreme ruler and where she actually was, the asari huntress stood her ground as her patience thinned believing the great leader was purposely delaying her squad. Vanessia's eyes never left the monarch, as Aria slowly lifted herself off the couch, and slinked her way over to the bottle of wine sitting on a nearby table.

Attempting to further intimidate the team, Aria tauntingly asked, "A glass of Ardat Yakshi wine, anyone?" Not actually being serious about the offer of the rare 5,000 credits a bottle beverage to the squad, Aria piped, "Of course not, you're on duty, if I am not mistaken."

Devoid of a shred of self preservation, Vanessia snapped, "Aria, is there a reason you are purposely delaying my squad here on Omega?"

Without making any physical contact, Contessa, who flanked her lover's left side, felt every muscle in the captain's body tense; awaiting Aria's retaliation.

Acting as if her pleasurable evening had not been interrupted at all, the asari queen casually sipped her extravagant wine, and stared out the large window; presumably at the swaying crowd below. Feeling as if she had deferred the asari squad long enough, Aria languidly spun around and scanned the near empty room. The only occupants remaining in her private salon were the three rigid commandos, two of the queen's best dancers and her personal bodyguard. The large batarian, Anto, was the same batarian who had been given the privilege of retrieving the angry commandos from the shuttle bay for his boss.

With a folded arm over her chest as her other hand lazily held the glass of expensive wine at her waist, Aria imperiously stepped closer to the asari captain. Sounding more like an order than a request, the supreme ruler demanded, "I have a problem I would like you to handle for me."

Not waiting for a reply, the queen of Omega returned to the small table where the posh wine sat.

Knowing her gut instinct hadn't been too far from the truth to why they had been brought to the dominating diva, Vanessia looked at her team and arrogantly retorted. "In case you haven't noticed, we are not exactly in the mercenary business."

Aria stopped pouring her drink midstream at Vanessia's insolent exclamation. Exhaling deeply, the woman of power shook her head slightly from side to side before she slowly finished pouring her beverage as the huntress continued.

"We did not come to Omega to 'help you' with your problems."

Hoping to remind the woman exactly whom she was speaking so harshly with, Contessa gently stroked her lover's arm.

In an equally harsh tone, Aria T'Loak sneered at the defiant captain. "If I am not mistaken; and I am not ever mistaken, I believe I helped you with your little problem not too long ago."

It was when Vanessia pulled her arm free from her lover's grasp, and took several steps closer to the Omega queen that her squad really began to worry.

"My team and I were perfectly capable of taking care of that "little problem", without your help Aria."

Deafening silence consumed the room, which halted the two dancer's arousing movements. The young dancers looked nervously at each other, knowing no one had ever been so rebellious with the Omega matriarch before. In the dead silence, a pin could have been heard dropping in the suddenly eerie room. Although it didn't need to be that quiet to hear the dogmatic ruler's deep throated growl and the glass, which contained two months worth of wine, go smashing against the wall.

The playfulness in Aria's voice instantaneously evaporated leaving only the seriousness of a killer's voice behind. "Nothing happens on my station without my blessing, Huntress. It would serve you well to remember this."

"Are you threatening me?" retorted the angered captain who was now standing ready to fight.

"What if I were, commando?" The equally arrogant woman stood with her arms spread as if she were addressing the entire station. The gesture dually served as a taunt reminding Vanessia exactly where she was; Omega, Aria T'Loak's Omega. "What exactly would you do about it?"

Proudly displaying that she was indignant, and that she was not going to back down, Vanessia stepped even closer to the supreme ruler. Within an arm's distance of the dangerous matriarch, the huntress warned, "Are you really sure you want to take on an asari commando unit?"

The confident queen rolled her eyes before answering shrewdly, "Are you sure, you want to tangle with an asari queen who is almost as old as your entire team combined?" 

"Vanessia!" Warned Contessa, hoping it was not too late to end the standoff.

A painfully stern expression reminded the young matron her place within Vanessia's squad, as she was swiftly silenced.

Not fazed at all by the commando's interruption, the queen further engaged the self-assured huntress. "Are you sure you want to take on Omega's supreme ruler with only 'one' commando team, my dear?" 

Mimicking the taunting glare from the asari matriarch, Huntress Vanessia quickly spat back, "In the end you might get the better of my team Aria, but are you sure you want to risk that beautiful face of yours in a fight against us?"

To the shock of everyone in the room, the two asari killers were now standing toe to toe ready to start glowing at any second. The entire room knew that things were not going to end well for all involved. The tension was so great in the chamber, that even the favored dancers had taken shelter behind one of soft leather couches.

It wasn't until Shayla felt weak in the knees that she remembered to breathe again. The unsure huntress watched Contessa intently, as one of her hands readied to pull out her weapon and start shooting, while her other's fingers twitched a faint luminous blue. The young maiden swallowed hard, but also readied herself for a bloody fight. In her mind, she apprehensively pondered, 'I hope that batarian isn't as tough as he looks'. 

Speaking through the asari huntress as if she were invisible, Aria's cunning tongue hissed, "Are you two willing to die with her?"

Eyes hesitantly looked about the lounge before the Omega queen spoke again. "I see that you command obedience in your squad. Too bad they will be wasting their lives for you."

Cotton mouthed, Huntress Shayla reconsidered her previous 'honor to be on Omega' comment and now speculated, 'At least it will be an honorable death on Omega.'

The commando's faithful huntresses neither flinched, nor changed their opposition as the Aria provoked them.

The Omega queen scowled directly into Vanessia's rich blue eyes, giving her one last chance to back down before the great asari leader. When the captain did not falter, Aria's next move greatly shocked everyone in the private salon.

Shattering the standoff, Aria quipped, "I like you Huntress" Nonchalantly spinning around to fetch another glass of wine, the asari matriarch mused, "I wish I had more people like you around. But such as it is, this place is dripping with…" the purple asari turned back to the huntress as she contemplated, "how shall I put this? Not properly motivated murdering thieves." 

As the softer words danced off Aria's lips, Contessa, Shayla and even Aria's bodyguard relaxed their battle readiness.

While the asari ruler finished making another glass of delectable potion, the bold logo on the back of her white jacket proudly declared Aria's rule over the scrupulous station. Vanessia's eyes fixated on the symbol as the matriarch mused over the exquisite wine. Absentmindedly, the huntress' focus slowly filtered down the backside of the matriarch until it became fixated on the tight leather that hugged the firm ass below. A momentary thought fleeted across the asari captain's mind, 'Thank Goddess she isn't wearing assless chaps.' Suddenly, feeling awkward for staring so precariously at the ruler's ass, Vanessia coughed clearing her throat and thoughts, bringing her back to reality.

Seemingly knowing the commando was staring at her voluptuous ass, Aria then sauntered over to the commando trio as if nothing had happened.

"Dear Huntress, the little problem pestering me is that I have an asari commando on my station that is in need of a commando unit. And as I hear, you are now a commando unit in need of a huntress."

Puzzled, yet considerably more calm, the squad leader questioned, "How exactly did you come across a lone asari commando?"

Aria's melodic voice returned, "Don't worry yourself about that, Huntress Vanessia."

With a bit of humor in her tone, the asari captain explained, "You know, I can't exactly pick up every stray huntress that comes along?"

At the amusing thought, Shayla and Contessa both chuckled at Vanessia's statement. Further relaxing their battle readiness, they smiled warmly at each other from behind their tenacious leader.

"I am certainly aware of your limitations. That is why the asari republics have already authorized it." Chimed the asari goddess as she paraded back to the couch, taking everyone's gaze with her.

Still stunned that Aria had even spoken to someone in the noble council, Huntress Contessa prodded, "Precisely who authorized this transfer?"

A blunt smirk breached the queen's face, privy of the personal relationship between the two huntresses. Aria's free hand pretended to swipe away dust on the couch next to her before the matriarch replied shortly, "Tevos"

The senior matron retorted, "Tevos who?" before she paused. "Goddess Athame, you're not talking about Citadel Councilor Tevos, are you?"

One of the edges of the queen's full lips slowly curled as she looked at Vanessia. Pleased at catching the huntresses off guard, Aria disclosed, "Why? Were you expecting someone of lower authority, Huntress?" The presumptuous queen then floated over to one of her dancers who was provocatively dancing again. "Honestly Huntress, I would not have wasted my time with anyone else."

Enchanted with the seductive swaying of the maiden's hips, Aria enticingly ran a finger down the spine of the dancer as the girl looked back at her while doing so. "I am a very busy woman after all. I can't afford to waste time" she all but purred. The lucky dancer smiled titillatingly at her mistress' attention as she pushed her backside into Aria's pelvis. The alluring asari then slid an open hand down the girl's thigh, eliciting a pleasurable moan. The dramatic contrast of purple skin against the blue skin further aroused the asari matriarch as she then smacked the dancer firmly on the ass; winking approvingly at the performer.

Gently shaking the asari from her hypnotic trance, Vanessia questioned, "Why didn't you just kill her?"

Laughing louder than necessary, Aria turned her attention towards the captain and began seductively eyeing up the beautiful matron at Vanessia's side. Knowing she could have anything she wanted 'on Omega', the merciless queen sarcastically remarked, "You make me sound like a monster or something."

Aria's smirk drifted from her striking face when she saw that Contessa did not react to her visual advances. The objectified simply lifted her head and looked to her squad leader for further direction. Disappointed, the supreme ruler gritted her teeth seeing that the two older huntresses were experienced enough not to be affected by her taunts. Further enjoying her little game, Aria amusingly turned her attention to the youngest huntress who appeared to be trembling in her boots at the proximately of the Omega queen.

As quick as it had left, Aria's mischievous smirk returned as she stepped closer to the young huntress. For the first time since entering the chamber, Vanessia flinched, taking a step towards the Omega queen blocking her immediate access to the youngest huntress. 

Aria grumbled, before her tone lightened, "Awfully protective aren't we? Your reputation precedes you, Huntress."

When Huntress Vanessia did not answer, the Omega dictator reluctantly returned to her couch across the room. "Why didn't I just kill her, you ask?" repeated the lavender asari. "Now Captain, just because someone is a pain in the ass, doesn't always mean they need to be disposed of." Flopping down on the soft leather, Aria suggested, "Wouldn't you say that Matriarch Ki'Lea would agree?"

Both Vanessia and Contessa's bodies went ridged at the mention of Vanessia's first squad leader. It unnerved the women that Aria had indeed, done her research.

Trying to change the subject as fast as possible, Huntress Vanessia quizzed, "Why are you trying to get rid of her?"

A surprising stream of emotions floated across the matriarch's face before she reluctantly answered. Tilting her wine glass between her two fingers, Aria complained, "Let's just say - she is slowly sleeping her way through my dancers."

Barely able to contain a laugh, the squad leader questioned, "Why - is that a problem?"

Snapping about Aria barked, "Because they can barely 'stand', much less 'dance', when she is done with them. It's like she uses her body as a weapon to bring them to their knees, and that is not good for business." 

Silence again filled the room for a moment as the Omega queen seethed with anger. With a nod of her lavender crest, the stunning queen instructed Anto to bring in the asari in question. Moments later, in the distance, a muffled yelping gradually made its way closer to the group of asari killers.

Against her will, an asari struggled as she was heaved over the batarian's shoulder and dropped hard onto the floor between the commando leader and the Omega queen. Vanessia studied the mystified girl as she floated upwards, quickly recovering from her awkward entrance.

The flailing girl was clearly a commando as she was wearing traditional all black commando leathers. However, the plain black uniform lacked a squad emblem, meaning she had not actually been assigned to a squad. When she straightened up, the maiden seemed either very confident or stupid, as she mocked the asari queen with a defiant stare of being treated so reprehensibly, in her opinion.

"So you finally gonna have a real huntress off me?"

Drawing the attention of the girl's light sea blue eyes away from the Omega Mistress, Vanessia cleared her throat as she prepared to speak. "Goddess, Aria, the child barely looks old enough to be a cadet, much less a full fledge commando."

Ignored by both leaders, the young huntress bellowed, "I have a name, you know!"

Further aggravated when no one in the room acknowledged her presence, the fiery asari yelped, "My name is Aleris Ankour! Not child! And I'm a hundred and seventy six!"

Shifting her weight to one side, Vanessia crossed her arms, looked back at the Omega ruler and huffed, "Really Aria, a hundred and seventy six years old? She is barely old enough to stop wet nursing." Knowing her second in command was also sizing up the recruit, Vanessia turned to her lover to retrieve her opinion. Contessa's uncharacteristic deep sigh said more than words, as the squad leader asked Aria, "Are you trying to beguile us?"

Pouring herself yet another glass of rare wine, the alluring purple asari disclosed, "Absolutely not, Huntress. I have no such intentions. But don't worry, unlike like your last huntress…" the speaking asari spun around and continued in a serious tone. "I have 'personally' checked out her credentials; including her pedigree. She is legit, pureblood and all."

Aleris once again erupted out of turn, "You bitch! You had no right looking into my background."

From leader to leader, Aria looked sympathetically to Vanessia. "See what I mean, absolutely no respect for her elders."

Both sets of eyes peered back to the young huntress as she again protested, "You'll never get away with this!"

The Omega queen wandered dangerously close to squad leader. Knowing the huntress' background, Aria snickered as she stared directly at Vanessia while she addressed the young asari. "Calm down child, I did my research. This particular huntress has a particular fondness for purebloods."

Vanessia was just about to release a deep seeded growl when Aria's eyes glanced over to the asari matron on her left, and announced, "Well mostly."

The captain's eye lids closed to near slits as the Omega queen attempted to insult Contessa; her non-pureblooded lover.

Languidly pacing in front of the group of commandos, the supreme ruler seemed immune to the hole Vanessia was drilling in the back of her skull. Redirecting the deadly huntress' attention, Aria demanded, "You are taking her with you."

Aleris exploded before Vanessia could reply, "You can't make me leave Aria!"

Vigilant of the thin line the young girl was treading on, Vanessia causally strolled over to the young huntress and whispered in her ear. "You think you are a pretty powerful commando, yes?" Shocked, the girl nodded, answering the senior huntress, suddenly finding her personal space being very invaded by someone she did not know.

"Image that, times three. That is the experience I have over you, 'child'. Imagine the number of dead bodies I have left in my wake in nearly 'six centuries'." 

The blood rushing away from the young huntress' face left her momentarily quite pale. She had not thought of a senior asari in such a way before. Although not intended, Shayla swallowed hard thinking of the numerous battles her squad leader had been in, and those who had been left in her wake.

The Omega queen significantly enjoyed watching the squad leader corral the outburst of the young asari as she took heed of the commando's warning, and silenced her tongue.

When Vanessia had successfully established her dominance over the young huntress, she turned her attention to the ruler of Omega, who was pretending to be more interested in the asari dancer than the power struggle happening right before her eyes. "And why should I relieve you of this burden, Aria T'Loak?"

Aria's lightheartedness and patience again dissipated, as she demanded, "You are taking her! Or by midnight tonight, there will be one more young commando lying dead in the guttered streets of Omega."

Caught between a rock and a harder place, the veteran huntress clinched her jaw and held her tongue from the many colorful words she wanted to disclose to the Omega ruler.

Sensing the asari captain was about to rebel once again, the supreme ruler turned her attention towards the seductive dancers and offered one of them a sip from her glass. Infatuated with the movement of the woman's tongue as the dancer licked away the excess liquid from her lips, the Omega queen smirked before barking, ensuring everyone understood no further discussion would be tolerated, "Now take your trash and 'get the hell off my station'!"


	11. Chapter 11 Then There Were Four

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Eleven: Then There Were Four **

Still begrudged at having to take the rebellious juvenile recruit in order to save her life, Huntress Vanessia made it very clear that she was keeping her distance from the young girl; who had now become her youngest recruit. As the newly formed commando unit made their way to the shipping docks, the youngest huntress dragged her feet far behind the trio of older asari.

Vanessia deep in thought followed the escort which Aria provided. Her mind wandered about the numerous obstacles that lay ahead of her new make shift squad in order to acclimate the new huntress. Flooded with the stress and the worrying about the tremendous responsibilities that lay ahead, the veteran huntress massaged her brow releasing a deep sigh. "Damn, all the things I'll have to teach her."

Concerned, Contessa was barely able to make out the leader's hushed words and asked, "What was that?"

With a frowned brow, Vanessia answered, "Oh nothing, babe. Sorry," and kept walking.

Very much to her liking, Contessa suddenly realized that her younger huntress, Shayla, had not left the captain's side since leaving Aria's chambers. Regardless of the worried expression on her lover's face, Contessa mused, _Oh Shayla, how I adore you. You always have your captain's flank._

Knowing the squad leader was not about to share her internal thoughts at this time, Huntress Contessa dropped back a bit and gently asked the falling behind huntress. "Aleris Ankour, are you hungry? Have you eaten yet? Should we stop?"

The asari who had barely lifted her head since departing Afterlife, muttered with a slight shrug. "Nah, I'm good."

"Very well then, but please let me know if you need anything, Huntress."

The word _huntress_ received more of a reaction than the mention of food from the girl whose stomach had been grumbling for hours. Not that the great queen of Omega hadn't offered her food and drink, but the hundred and sixty seven year old asari had been too stubborn to accept the ruler's gifts.

Heading down a boarding gate that Huntress Vanessia wasn't familiar with, made the veteran huntress instantly yank out her weapon and point it at the back of their vorcha escort's head. The sudden sound of a readied thermo clip instantly provoked the other two squad members to instantly retrieve their weapons as well.

"Where are you taking us vorcha?" barked the asari captain.

"Shits! I knew that's why she sends me. She thinks me expendable," hissed the lowly soldier.

Stunned, the youngest huntress stood behind the three gun totting huntresses as no one moved after the vorcha's statement.

Cautiously lifting his hands high in the air, the vorcha escort slowly turned around, hoping not to further antagonize the invoked commandos. His words trembled, "Aria says, you are to take her privates shuttle."

"Why would she do that, vorcha?" Vanessia's voice swathed with mistrust.

"I believes she thinks, you would leaves much faster in her shuttles." Upon finishing, the creepy looking escort closed his eyes in anticipation of becoming just another stain on Omega.

To his surprise, Vanessia spoke, "Fine, then lead on." The squad began to stow their weapons when the huntress further cautioned, "But let me warn you, vorcha, try anything fishy and I'll hit you with a biotic blast so hard, they won't be able to find evidence that you ever existed."

The escort's eyes hesitantly opened from deep within his honeycomb shaped forehead as he sighed heavily. "Yesa huntresses, me understands perfectly."

Forcing out a delayed breath, Aleris speculated, '_Great, she rules with an iron fist. This is going to be oh–so-much-fun'._ The young huntress' internal exclamation was quickly followed by human slang she picked up on Omega, '_NOT!'_

Down another long corridor sat Aria's luxurious shuttle. Vanessia's three huntresses enthusiastically cooed and awed over the magnificent craft. Only the senior asari remained unphased by the sublime curves of the space going vessel. Scanning up and down the shuttle, Huntress Vanessia swiftly recognized the design, being that of the exclusive Falconcrest Class, designed for the asari elite. Cocking her head to one side as she studied the ship, the huntress muttered, "Like the ones reserved for the asari republics, if I'm not mistaken." Stealing the words from her recent adversary, Vanessia added with a sharp condescending tone, "and I am never mistaken".

The senior asari ushered her excited squad onto the private shuttle after speaking briefly with the pilot. He had been instructed to take them anywhere she wanted. And much to her liking, he was a lot more respectful to the asari commando than the last pilot leaving Omega. The huntress chalked it up to his experience of working directly with the Omega queen, and the image of a singularity bolt up his ass was a little more than an empty threat to him.

Being the last to enter the cabin, Vanessia saw that the asari whom had barely left her side all night was bursting with curiosity. Mindful of the maiden's inquisitive nature, Vanessia softly asked Shayla, "Something on your mind, Huntress?"

The beautiful pale skinned asari beamed with delight at finally being able to ask the question which had been burning inside her since leaving Afterlife. Yet before the young maiden asked, her smile flattened as she considered how troubled her squad leader might be feeling. However her desire for knowledge was too much to handle, and now her captain had asked her to share her thoughts, which meant the senior huntress was ready to talk about what just happened.

The normally quiet asari spoke in a concerned monotone voice, "I know you didn't want her to come with us, so why did you choose to take her?"

Moving to the back of the small craft that could easily carry fifteen Republic Matriarchs, or in this case, one powerful queen; Huntress Vanessia chose to sit in the back row of seats that allowed her the best view of the entire shuttle. Settling down into a white oversized lounger, the senior huntress sat with a single leg across her lap and arms crossed smugly over her chest before answering. Her royal blue eyes watching the other two huntresses choose their seats as she spoke. "I could not leave her there to die."

Shayla's greenish blue eyes shot wide at the outlandish idea, as she flopped down in the seat next to her captain. "Aria really wouldn't have killed her for sleeping with most of her dancers, would she?"

The senior huntress snickered before she turned a soft glaring eye towards the young huntress. Scoffing, Vanessia added, "Aria has killed for less."

Meanwhile, a few rows up, Contessa saw the young frustrated huntress take a seat by the window and started to ask if she could sit next to her. "Hey kiddo."

Harsher than intended, the young huntress bit back, "I said, I'm not a kid!"

Being the most sensitive one in the squad, Contessa gently smiled before a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. The asari matron quietly took the seat next to the unexpected transfer and replied in her typically sweet melodic demeanor, "I am very sorry. I honestly meant no offense. Please forgive me."

Although young, and new to the group of commandos, Aleris instantly felt bad because the senior matron who had carried herself with great sophistication and pride, was only trying to be polite. Hearing the sweet voice apologize, made her feel somehow even worse for snapping at the huntress. Slumping further into her seat, the young commando felt nauseous as the woman's face looked kindly upon her.

Used to dealing with a much older ball of fury, Contessa's smile once again returned and she politely conveyed, "I am terribly sorry you were taken off Omega." Shifting her gaze to meet the younger girl's eyes, the matron continued, "It must be very difficult for you."

The young huntress barely nodded at the matron with the angelic voice. She was suddenly aware of how long it had been since she was spoken to in a civilized manner. It also dawned on her, how long she had been on Omega. The scrupulous space station had earned its reputation and rightfully so, having become a safe haven for hardened criminals and the galaxy's waste. The barbaric location was no place for a young asari commando. Despite how she felt about the Omega queen, she knew she would later come to be in the queen's debt for getting her off that hell hole of a station.

For a fleeing moment, Contessa saw this realization in the young girl's eyes. Aleris, feeling slightly more comfortable in the lieutenant's presence, slowly allowed her body to relax as she turned towards the matron a bit more, hoping to engage the asari in a conversation that was about something other than endless nights of pleasure.

Kindheartedly, the matron asari asked, "What experience do you have?"

The young huntress chortled before speaking, "Lots - tons. I can kill just about anything."

Grinning at the girl's enthusiasm and knowing personally what her squad had been through, Contessa lightly replied, "Well, we shall have to see about that."

Settling down next to the maiden, Contessa sat with knees pulled together and hands delicately placed on her lap. The young huntress couldn't help thinking she looked like a matriarch. At first, it greatly unnerved the young woman feeling as if an actual matriarch was speaking to her.

"So Huntress Aleris, what are your other interests; I mean, besides unnerving the queen of Omega?"

The blunt question caused the maiden to laugh out loud making her relax even more. Before long, the two were discussing their passion for shopping, and their strong dislike of spiders; especially when they crawled on them. From the back of the shuttle, Shayla kept looking around the seat in front of her, to the pair laughing hysterically as a distant shouting echoed about the cabin.

"I'm like…it's on me. And I'd yell. 'Get it off! Get it off me!' Goddess! Awful spiders." Laughter drowned out any other comprehendible sentences.

Thrusting back into her seat, Shayla wrinkled her nose and flatly stated, "Sounds like they are getting along, no?" When the huntress' statement didn't receive a single reaction from the asari who now sat closed eye at her side, Vanessia heard Shayla's soft leather chair creek as she again leaned forward to see what the two asari found so amazingly funny.

After a few more minutes, Shayla was barely able to make out the next outburst of teary eyed laughter. "Oh Goddess, yes, I love that dress! Monkea Tra'Bute is the best designer in the Universe. I just LOVE her work!"

The senior huntress once again felt the row of seats shift as Shayla slumped back into her seat. Knowing that her faithful and loyal huntress would never abandon her side in her time of need, Vanessia slowly released a deep breath. Without even opening her eyes, the asari captain offered, "Shayla, just go."

Shocked that her captain was still awake, the young maiden turned to her leader and asked, "Are you sure?"

It was when the maiden had again displayed her great dedication to her leader, that Vanessia cracked a smile and opened one eye at the young huntress. "Go ahead, Shay. Go see what they're carrying on about."

The eager huntress wasted no time bounding up from her seat before she abruptly turned back around and hurriedly placed a kiss on her captain's forehead, "Thank you, Vanessia. Thank you very much."

As the young maiden quickly headed towards the laughing duo, Vanessia's second eye opened to a mere slit. '_Aw, to be a young maiden again'_. But as her head rested back onto the now still row of seats, she thought the better. '_Nah, I'm happy to be five hundred and fifty one. Goddess, going through that awkward sexually libidinous stage again, I think would kill me.'_


	12. Chapter 12 Sex, Leather & Lacy Panties

**A/N: Correct pronunciation of Vanessia's sire name is Atalaya (At'ta lay ah)**

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Twelve: Sex, Leather and Lacy Panties**

A long slender blue hand slid over the skin of another blue figure, provoking a small groan that escaped the asari. Wrapping around the tight skin of the maiden's thigh was a more skilled hand, as very moist lips found their way across the glistening skin. Mutual wanting pants echoed off the walls as the women's passion increased. The dominate lover dragged her lips down the length of the maiden's neck. Heavy exhales filled the air as the senior asari made her way down onto the open chest of her now lover.

Long dragging kisses melted into short, deep, wet kisses; leaving a trail of moisture in their wake. With each painfully slow peck, the maiden moaned louder and louder as the kisses moved towards her sternum. Occasionally, the matron stopped and licked the moist skin she had left behind while glancing up at her delightful pleasure that she had deemed, her private playground. The asari on top secured her dominance over the other as she wrapped the maiden's leg around her waist, freeing up her other hand further displaying her control. The younger asari was just about to struggle to free herself when the skilled lips drifted further down her sternum, lingering right between her breasts. Exhaling heavily, the young maiden shuddered and her back arched when the lips barely made contact with the skin between her mounds.

The dominate figure looked up and smiled mischievously at her impromptu lover. Seeing that her eyes were rolled deep into the back of her head and neck thrust forward exposing the tender skin beneath it, the matron gently moved to one side of the anticipating maiden's chest; allowing her bottom lip to drag across the skin below. Grinning at the perked mounds, the matron released a shallow warm breath, taunting the hard nubs below.

Slowly the expert lover shifted her sublime hips between the younger woman's legs, taking advantage of her lover's libidinous distraction. Without warning, the matron flicked the rock hard nipples with her long experienced tongue. The wanting asari maiden pushed her spine further into her new lover and sensually exclaimed, "OH GODDESS!"

Once again, lust filled the open space of the room during one of the asari's favorite past times. Scanning over the bare skin of the asari pair, Huntress Vanessia studied the scene a little closer. Tightening her brow as her eyes scrutinized what she was witnessing, the veteran asari near breathlessly whispered to the younger asari below her.

"What are you doing, Aleris?"

As if she were repeating the day's weather, Vanessia's newest recruit retorted, "Watching Asari Confessions, Season Six."

The senior huntress cocked her head as the angle of the lovers changed on the vid show. A bit mystified at what she was seeing the matron replied curiously. "Oh."

The junior huntress, who was badly slouching in the large chair that would easily sit two, stared up hopeful at her superior. The young asari sat with one leg over the arm of the chair, snacking on a large bowl of popcorn.

"Wanna watch it with me?"

Briefly glancing between her junior commando, and the vid screen, Vanessia's eyes flickered widely a few times before she barely stuttered, "Um…., no, I…. I 'm good."

The young huntress' pupils shot between her squad leader and the vid before eagerly questioning, "Are you sure? It's really good." Popping another handful of the delightful treat in her mouth, Aleris mumbled, "This week is information brokers on Illium. Goddess, do they got some dirty secrets to reveal too."

Apprehensively shifting between her feet, Vanessia flatly stated, "Um, no, I'm good. Thank you." The senior huntress then shuffled towards her bed chamber, "Ah, Contessa was calling me earlier. I better go find out what she wanted."

Aleris looked over her shoulder eager to further entice the squad leader, but the huntress was out of sight before she knew it. Settling back into the comfy chair, the maiden shoved a large handful of the tasty snack into her mouth, "Suit yourself, but you…. don't know what you're missing."

Quickly making her way into their bed chamber, Vanessia looked inquisitively towards her off and on again lover, "Tessa, I don't know what it is but _Goddess_ that girl has a sex drive on her."

Buckling the last of her commando leathers, Contessa spun around to face her favorite captain. "What are you talking about?"

Moving closer to her second in command, the senior huntress explained, "I just saw Aleris watching some racy show called _Asari Confessions_."

Hearing the title, _Asari Confessions_, a flood of images filtered through Contessa's mind as she smiled and turned her backside towards her captain. Pretending to fuss with her waist strap, the sophisticated asari whimsically chimed, "And..?"

With a furrowed brow, the senior huntress continued, "Well, isn't it a little early for that sort of thing?"

Not missing a beat, Contessa hummed, "Oh, I'm not so sure about that." The soft skinned asari moved closer to her captain while breathing playfully in her ear. "I happen to know someone else who often enjoys an early morning jolt, if you know what I mean my love."

The senior huntress blushed heavily hearing Contessa's words so close to her ear, feeling the warm breath and teeth nip at her ear canal. "Hmmmm, I believe I might know who you are referring to."

…..

A few hours later, on the landing pad of the day's first training map, Firebase Glacier: Sanctum, Huntress Vanessia began conducting her routine gear and weapons check on each asari commando.

Watching a pair of hands meticulously trail the body of her new squad member, Huntress Shayla, Aleris chuckled, "Wow, last time I got touched like that, I was being searched by Aria's men."

The senior huntress squatting between Shayla's legs ran her hands skillfully up and down the young huntress' thighs, while Aleris gawked in amazement. Smirking the whole time, the most junior asari mused, "I have a feeling I might have to go to the bathroom after this…inspection."

Abruptly taking to her feet, the squad leader gently, but firmly, turned the outspoken asari around as the young girl blurted, "Oh goodie, my turn."

Pausing before starting the examination, Vanessia glared at her lover who returned a kind loving smile at her wary commando. A lift in Contessa's brow indicated that the other seasoned huntress found nothing wrong with the juvenile's comments. Realizing she wasn't going to receive any help from her second in command, Vanessia unenthusiastically ran a hand down each of the girl's arms eliciting an unintentional pleasurable moan.

If the senior huntress had allowed herself to dwell on it more, she would have thought that Contessa was enjoying the squeals of the young maiden, and how it was making her captain feel a bit out of her comfort zone. After all, it was normally her job to make people feel uncomfortable, not the other way around. As the exploration of the huntress' leather uniform continued, Contessa's smile beamed brighter and brighter while she witnessed Vanessia blush several times from Aleris' verbalization of the review; in every other way than what the check was actually intended to be.

Knowing she needed to kneel before the ornery huntress to check the clasps on Aleris' legs, the veteran captain hesitantly swallowed hard before continuing. Glancing between her lover and her second youngest commando, the squad leader paused, experiencing a gut feeling that the worst was yet to come. The spunky asari had already done her best to embarrass the stoic captain, and having her down on bended knees before her was an opportunity the young maiden was not about to waste.

Taking everyone by surprise, especially the self-assured recruit, Vanessia held the maiden at an arm's length and visually checked her leather strappings. The pouty face on Aleris made the captain smile brightly as she securitized every clasp and buckle.

Begrudged at not getting the best of her new captain, the zealous asari questioned the veteran huntress with great curiosity when she did not inspect Commander Contessa's snuggly fitting leather uniform.

"What about her? Doesn't she get checked?" The asari all but giggled.

Knowing that her lover had out smarted the young maiden, Contessa cupped her lover's face and answered Aleris for her captain. In a sweet tone, saturated with love and respect, the second in command purred, "She already conducted, a very- thorough- inspection earlier this morning, my dear."

An unexpected burst of laughter erupted from Huntress Shayla which she tried to stifle, but failed miserably. When all eyes turned on the lavender blushing maiden, Shayla quickly retrieved her assault rifle and headed up the ramp that lead into the building. "All locked and loaded, Captain Atalaya!"

Smirking proudly at the maiden, knowing Contessa hadn't exactly been very quiet earlier that morning, Vanessia instructed her two junior commandos. "Aleris, go with Shayla. She will show you where to stand before each wave."

Out of ear shot, Contessa's delicate hand floated down to her lover's collar, "Why did you choose this map, my love. I know it is not your favorite?"

Looking at where the young maiden was once standing, Vanessia explained, "Aleris is so young. I can't imagine she knows very much about actually fighting. I would like to have her close, and keep an eye on her. I can do that best with the Glacier map. It is a very tight battlefield."

Nodding in agreement, Contessa broke the embrace and sauntered towards the other commandos. Reaching for her long sniper rifle from her back, the sultry asari spun around to glance at her captain, whom she knew would be staring at her curvaceous figure.

"Are you coming, my love?"

Ripping the matron from her momentary blatant trance, the squad leader enthusiastically answered the object of her desire as she withdrew her own weapon. "Yes, ma'am!"

Huntress Shayla was showing the junior huntress around the map before Vanessia ordered the first wave to start. The more experienced huntress spoke very little, but demonstrated a great deal of control and containment unlike her counterpart, who was hopping over one of the control panels like a little girl on a playground.

"Are you listening?"

Aleris' feet hit the floor with another loud zealous giggle, "Yeppers, got every word."

"You know you shouldn't be doing that?"

"Why not?" asked the newest recruit.

At the forefront of the senior maiden's mind, she thought she had a perfectly good reason why not, but when she began to speak, that answer completely abandoned her. Scratching the back of neck, Shayla looked up at the ornery recruit with a slight frown. It bothered her more that she couldn't find a legit excuse of why asari huntresses didn't jump over things just for fun. "Well…"

Aleris' ocean blue eyes stared joyfully into Shayla's softer green eyes as she searched for her mysterious good reason. Taking the opportunity to toy with her squadmate, Aleris mused, "Well, what?" 

It greatly satisfied the ornery asari when her piercing stare further flustered her senior maiden. Internally, she couldn't help but bask in her temporary glory. _I might not get the stoic captain yet, but her protégé will do just fine for now._

However, watching Shayla shift uneasily in her boots made the junior huntress realize just how green the other huntress was. The awkward gesture stirred a soft blush of her own. She wasn't used to flustering someone so easily. Chewing on her bottom lip, Aleris sheepishly gloated, _It was only a simple question after all. _Yet, the boisterous maiden could not rip her gaze off the maiden. It suddenly dawned on the young maiden for the first time, how nice it actually was to be around such an innocent.

Offering to end the huntress' suffering, Aleris stated, "It's ok. I'm just messing with you. I'll stop."

The senior maiden wasted no time exhaling a deep sigh of relief and continued to show her junior around. Skipping childlike behind her, Aleris muttered under her breath, "For now."

Shayla quickly slipped back into her mature authoritative voice. "Stick with me and watch my back. And be mindful of Commander Contessa's sniping. Cuz if you let her get killed, Huntress Vanessia - well, let's just not talk about what Vanessia would do to you. Trust me, it's not a good thing."

By the time the newly formed squad had begun the third wave, they had already assimilated into two formidable teams. Aleris was now accompanying Huntress Contessa who was taking point above the landing pad with her sniper rifle. The young huntress was tasked with maintaining a security bubble around the sniping position. Huntress Vanessia felt it was an easy enough assignment for the young maiden, which also served at keeping her attention in one place without getting her killed.

The senior commando also found it most accommodating to have her second youngest commando with her. They worked exceptionally well together. As the captain froze a target, sometimes in mid step, she discovered that Lieutenant Shayla was already charging the target, and often without even having to be prompted. It was like the two shared an unspoken bond of cohesive battle tactics. This unique collaboration would greatly benefit the team when forced into communication silence.

Captain Atelaya scanned the remaining lower level with her loyal commando. Huntress Shayla hardly ever left the captain's flank; departing only long enough to charge an enemy, knocking them hard to the ground with an intense Vanguard punch. This was a tribute that greatly impressed the asari captain, and further pleased her asari lover.

When Huntress Shayla had successfully decimated the last enemy in their quadrant, Vanessia tapped her throat comm, "Contessa, Vanessia here. How is it going up there?"

When the seasoned huntress watched her newest recruit charge at least four enemies across the room on her own, Contessa delicately placed her fingers over her throat comm and melodically replied, "Oh -things are good up here."

"Glad to hear that. How is the new recruit working out?"

Contessa paused when Aleris momentarily disappeared out of sight. But when the seasoned commando saw an enemies' body go flying past the doorway, she pushed out the air she had been holding in. A second later, the confident asari strolled back into view and nodded to her superior that the threat had been eliminated.

"Oh, she is handling things quite well, I must say."

The subtle tone in Contessa's voice hinted to her captain that there was something she wasn't disclosing.

"Contessa, is there something you're not telling me?"

Before the seasoned asari had time to reply to Vanessia, Aleris activated her throat comm.

"Huntress, I am doing exactly as instructed. 'Maintain an enemy free zone around Commander Contessa.'"

As the young maiden exchanged glances with her immediate superior, she released her throat comm. Aleris saw that Contessa approvede of her type of fighting style. Smirking, as she loaded a new thermo clip in her Carnifex pistol, the newest recruit chimed with a hint of shyness, not knowing exactly how the second in command would respond.

Smiling brightly, the young huntress declared, "Well, she didn't say how BIG that bubble had to be."

The seasoned huntress smiled warmly at her youngest squadmember. She knew talent when she saw it, and the beautiful huntress deliberately tried to hide how much she approved of the heroine's combat techniques, at this time. She would need her captain's approval for that first.

….

Sometime later, during another hectic wave, all the commandos were feeling the pressure of the onslaught as enemies beared down upon them. Out by the map's landing pad, Vanessia's biotic barrier and shields were taken down leaving her vulnerable to further attack. Shayla had just charged into the adjacent room to destroy the two or three targets, the asari squad leader had just frozen in stasis. From her left side, the senior matron did not even see the Cerberus trooper outflank her from the other side of the crate, which he had been hiding behind for some time.

Without warning, the trooper fired bringing the squad leader down. A calm, but annoyed voice resounded in the comm channel, "I'm down. I'm down! Shayla where are you? I - "

Unable to finish her sentence, the incapacitated huntress stared up to see her newest recruit standing over her. Before recognition settled in, the asari squatted next to her captain and revived her. "I've got you, Huntress."

Shocked by how quick Aleris had gotten there, Vanessia stammered, "Th-thank you."

…

On the last map for the day, Firebase Dagger located on Ontarom, Vanessia and Shayla were buried up to their necks in enemy forces. Constantly harassing them were several assault troopers, shielded guardians, a combat engineer and a few turrets that bastard had set up in the dirt courtyard. The nimble commandos were playing a vicious game of leap frog and reviving each other, only milliseconds before going down themselves.

Far from their current position, even if they hadn't been immobilized, the squad leader's lover was in deep trouble. Contessa yelped with a twinge of urgency, "Help! Help! I'm being overrun and all I have is my sniper rifle."

A rather loud order was expeditiously barked instead of spoken over the specialized neck comms. "Aleris, get up in the comm tower immediately!" The command was harsher than the huntress had intended, but all could hear the seriousness in Vanessia's voice.

A breath later, Contessa returned on her own comm piece, "It's ok. Aleris is already here." A few gun shots and biotic pulses could be heard through the comms, before Contessa reported, "They are all dead. I am ok, Vanessia, honest." Breathing hard from the sudden exertion, the matron added, "Aleris showed just in time to help."

A simple 'good' answered the huntress on the other line, but even the other squad members recognized the instant relief in the captain's voice.

….

Later that evening after dinner, Contessa wanted to have a heart to heart talk with Vanessia.

"I need to speak with you, Captain, about today's training."

About to sit on the edge of Aleris' oversized chair, Vanessia questioned, "What about it?"

Contessa tugged at her lover's arm. Vanessia had not quite sat down yet, as she gave the newest recruit sitting in the chair a mischievous look.

"_This_ discussion needs to happen in private."

"Contessa, I believe that anything involving the squad could be discussed in front of them."

Pulling the arm hard enough to pull the captain off the chair, Contessa retorted, "Not all things should be public."

It seemed that everyone in the room was catching Contessa's seductive drift, except the person who should have noticed most; Vanessia.

Annoyed at being drug off the comfy seat, the squad leader rejected, "Hey, I was about to sit there."

Leading the puzzled leader to their bed chamber, Contessa responded, "Well, you should be a lot more comfortable in the room."

Contessa's evocative statement caused the two younger commandos to chuckle as they knew their commanding officer was still not catching on to the alluring suggestion the beautiful asari was trying to make.

Confused, Vanessia spun around and asked, "We aren't on one of those reality vid shows, are we?" Looking to her lover for further confirmation, the senior commando asked, "You know I hate those things right? They make people do the stupidest things."

Grasping the captain's hands in hers, so she could further control her lover's direction, Contessa hummed, "No, no dear, nothing like that, and no one is taping us; at least tonight."

A loving yet mysterious look blanketed the mature matron's face as the two disappeared into their private chamber.

Watching the door uncharacteristically close behind them, Vanessia asked, "What is so important, Contessa?"

Knowing it would be hard for her lover to accept a new recruit so quickly, the second in command embraced the captain with all her might.

Surprised by the sudden hold, Vanessia gently pulled her lover back. "Ok, Tessa, now you are starting to worry me. What is wrong? What did you want to talk about?"

Turning her head to the side, Contessa feebly attempted to avoid eye contact while she was held firmly in her lover's grip.

When the subordinate commando said nothing, Vanessia tenderly lifted the chin of the light blue woman with her finger and smiled warmly. "You know there is nothing you can't tell me."

Letting go of a reserved breath, Contessa cautiously asked, "What did you think of Aleris' performance today?"

The senior asari slowly broke the embrace and began pacing just a few steps away from her commander. Rubbing her furrowed brow, Huntress Vanessia stated, "She is so young."

A little more excited than perhaps necessary, Contessa stated, "But she is very good, Nessie, even better than Sen…."

The sophisticated asari innocently covered her mouth, mindful not to speak the name that greatly upset her captain, her lover and friend. Facing her leader again, Contessa carefully continued when Vanessia had no ill reaction to her near misspeak. "I know she is young, but I have never seen one so young, fight so well. I never had to worry about her. It is like she is a natural commando."

The slow pacing of the squad leader came to a halt. Releasing a deep sigh of her own, Vanessia stopped festering in her own guilt, worry, and recalled the young recruit's performance.

"She did save me a couple of times, didn't she?"

The rhetorical question was a pleasant surprise to Contessa's ears; her smile brightened, "Oh Vanessia, you should have seen her. She was superb. She took down a plethora of enemies on her own." The mindful matron ensured she had the attention of her squad leader before continuing. "She reminds me a lot of you."

Knowing that the intelligent asari was leading her right where she wanted her, the senior huntress played along with the game and merely responded with, "I see."

Sashaying over to her lover, Contessa continued to praise the young asari maiden. "I truly believe she will be a great asset to the team. I already feel that I could trust her with my life."

The protective lover gathered the beautiful huntress in her arms, cocking her head to the side, she playfully teased, "Oh really, your life, huh?"

Pleasantly surprised by the sudden protective hug, Contessa hummed, "Well not before you, of course."

Feeling the way her captain was unexpectedly pressing against her, Contessa could tell that Vanessia's libido was rising. Before another thought passed in the beautiful asari's mind, she felt her leader's lips slowly graze over the sensitive skin of her neck.

"Oh, Vanessia" purred the alluring commando.

The beautiful matron melted into her lover's embrace as the huntress moved to the other side of Contessa's neck. After a few passionate filled kisses, the slightly younger asari wrapped her hands around Vanessia's lithe waist, encouraging her lover to continue. Under the teasing of her lips, the senior commando felt Contessa's breathing become intensified.

Relentlessly continuing the ministrations of her lover's neck, Vanessia dipped low enough to allow her lips and tongue to tease the throat of the alluring asari. Each ragged breath that Contessa took, sped up the heartbeat of her lover. Vanessia's strong hands firmly gripped her lover's well shaped backside, pulling her closer as she feasted on the matron's neckline. The soft teasing kisses had now turned into deep wanting bites at the tender blue skin below the teeth that nipped at it.

A low pleasurable moan escaped the alluring asari's throat. "Oh Nessie! Please… don't…. stop."

Obeying the equally desirable request, Vanessia's fingers trailed the physically fit ass pressed against her. The senior asari's titillating touch never left the matron's body. The deep warm breaths that floated across the matron's perked skin intensified Vanessia's identically aroused state, as each of her exhales also shuttered.

Contessa's head returned to its natural position as her piercing light blue eyes met that of her lover's. Capturing more than the squad leader's attention, Contessa seductively purred in a tone which the asari captain had become very familiar with. "Make love to me, Vanessia."

Silently agreeing, the asari matron smiled at her lover with a wink of her eye. Following her wanting lover's orders, Vanessia slid a hand to the back of the beautiful asari's neck. Skilled fingers slowly released the zipper that held her lover's body hostage. As the silky material gently collided with the floor, Vanessia marveled at the delicate blue skin that hid beneath the dress. In milliseconds that felt more like moments, the pureblood watched as Contessa's body revealed that she was wasn't wearing very much under the fine garment.

Vanessia's smile grew bigger and brighter, as her lover knew that her secret surprise for the captain had been well received. Soft cool air gently caressed the bare skin of the asari's chest; leaving just one small piece of material remaining on her body.

It did not take long before the senior matron's nimble fingers hooked their way into the thin strap that curved over the alluring asari's hips. Following the path of the black material, it wasn't long before Vanessia's hand found bare skin again, and a lot of it.

Eliciting an uncontrollable groan, Vanessia hummed, "Oh Goddess, I love it when you wear the black lacy thong."

Shamelessly pushing her ass further into Vanesssia's hand, Contessa admitted, "Mmmmm, so do I."


	13. Chapter 13 Change of Plans

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Thirteen: Change of Plans**

Early the next morning, Vanessia sat at the round table in the kitchen. She was the first to rise, even before her beloved Contessa; who was typically the one who woke earliest. Thumbing over her data-pad, the senior asari paused as her team captain shuffled into the kitchen. The matron leisurely reached for her favorite kaffe' cup but stopped when she noticed it was not where it had last been placed. Bringing her attention around, Vanessia informed the groggy woman. "I already made it for you dear." Nudging towards the counter, the squadleader added, "I even put your favorite cream in it."

The surprised matron leaned back on the buffet's edge smiling adoringly at her lover. "Oh Nessie, that was so sweet of you. I bet it taste delicious." Before the next words came out, her loving smile eclipsed into a mischievous smirk with eye brows lifted. "I can think of something else that is delicious."

This triggered the squadleader to peek around her data pad, purring, "And what might that be lover?"

Contessa was just about to answer when the youngest squad member came busting into the kitchen interrupting the sensual moment. Aleris began opening and slamming the cabinet doors, before disappearing in the large refrigerator. "What did you so was delicious Tess?"

As the maiden stood with both doors wide open, letting all the coolness escape from the pod, Vanessia cleared her throat and corrected the youngling in her authoritative tone. "That is Contessa. Not Tess."

The starving asari ignored her commanding officer as if she had said nothing at all. Still holding onto the fridge's doors, the maiden slumped; bummed out that she was unable to finding anything in the cooler box to satisfy her morning hunger. Dragging herself back to the rations lockers for one last peek she suddenly halted, spying the steaming carafe sitting on the counter. Quickly retrieving a red cup from the cupboard, the inquisitive asari stated, "Hot kaffe' already? Excellent!" Before another word could be spoken, the maiden began to pour herself a cup of the hot brew.

A furrowed brow from Contessa warned her lover not to mention the kaffe' being specifically for her. Scoffing, the commando leader shifted noisily in her seat before again burying her face back in the data pad. The loud protest of course did not stop the young commando from pouring herself a cup of the milky brown beverage.

Taking the seat across from the annoyed matron, the excited asari cradled her piping hot mug. Aware that her superior was being objective about something, Aleris asked Contessa as she settled into the seat, "What's that all about?"

"Goddess, this kaffe' is good." The young huntress again interjected, before the curvaceous asari could reply.

Loudly dropping her data pad onto the marble table top, Vanessia was just about to voice her outburst when she was again interrupted.

"Kaffe' already?" questioned the sleepy eyed asari who had just entered the room. Pulling out her favorite yellow mug, Huntress Shayla whiffed in the smell of the sweet brew. "Goddess this does smell good." Looking over to normal preparer of the morning meal, the maiden asked, "Contessa, this is the expense stuff, isn't it?" Quickly filling up her chalice, the maiden commando asked, "What's the special occasion?"

Defeated, Vanessia could only lower her head and massage her temple. This was not the romantic morning she had hoped for.

However, Contessa was pleased that her junior commandos were delighted to share in Vanessia's surprise. Demonstrating that there was still plenty of kaffe' left, she motioned towards her favorite matron. When her lover smiled flatly, the privy huntress blew a soft kiss in her direction and whispered, "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Not completely letting go of the ruined moment, the senior officer grumbled as she lifted out of her chair. "Ok gang. Enjoy your breakfast while you can, we have a debriefing in 10 minutes."

The two junior asari began to grumble as Vanessia placed a delicate kiss on her lover's cheek. Dismissing herself to the other room, the veteran huntress reiterated, "Ten minutes ladies. Ten minutes."

…

At 1430 hours that afternoon, Huntress Vanessia had her squad packed and loaded for their next assignment. During their morning brief, the senior officer informed the group that they were to report to the military testing station run by the newest species to join the galaxy of nations; the humans. The captain's request to have her newest recruit tested had been granted, however, not in the way she was expecting. The asari republic had sanctioned the evaluation of the junior commando at the space station known as the Presidium; the specialized training facility had rapidly gained favor throughout the systems.

…

"Hey! Watch it!" the senior huntress warned loudly. "Those weapons are worth more than you make in a solar year."

The turian worker simply turned his head and continued his work; loading the shuttle's bags. He did not feel he had done anything wrong or mishandled the large metal cases that were marked Asari Commando Unit K065, but the last thing he wanted was to get into an argument with the squad leader. Hovering over the man like his overbearing father had back on Palavan; just because he didn't want to be a front line soldier in the turian marine division, the asari matron observed him closely.

Gawking at the gun metal colored ship that looked to be several decades past its prime, the other three commandos stood just outside the shuttle's entrance. "Goddess! This thing is a piece of junk." the zealous maiden blasted, perhaps louder than needed breaking the silence. Turning to her superior officer for guidance, the youngest maiden questioned, "We aren't really going in that are we?"

Rubbing her own temple at the sad looking vessel, Contessa explained, "According to Vanessia, it was the last shuttle leaving for the Presidium for the forty five days." Allowing her own doubt to fill her mind, the matron turned when she heard her senior maiden voice her concern.

"Is it safe?" Shayla muttered.

Rolling her bright blue eyes, Aleris spat, "This piece of junk? It hardly looks like it could fly much less be safe."

"By the Goddess, we are going to die aren't we?" Shayla questioned looking hopeless at her second in command.

"We are not going to die" replied the matron as she motioned for her team to start boarding.

Teasing her squadmate, the junior maiden prodded, "I think we might."

The asari captain slowly paced in front of the terminal worker, watching with crossed arms as her unit leisurely boarded the shuttle. Another demeaning remark blurted from under her breath, "I don't even want to see those beady little eyes rise to stare at my commandos. You got it?" The Citadel dock employee again had the sense not to stand his ground with the clearly grumpy asari commando.

Waiting until she was safely inside the space craft, Aleris asked, "What's wrong with her?"

Leaning her head back outside, Contessa witnessed Vanessia finally leaving the poor worker alone to begin her own safety inspection of the vessel for severe imperfections. Gently ushering her squad further into the twenty passenger ship, the sophisticated matron mentioned, "Just ignore grumpy grump back there."

Unable to quite rap her finger around her new commanding officer, the newest squad member questioned, "Is she always that stand offish?"

Poking her head around the corner of a badly dented partition as they shuffled their way to their assigned seats, Huntress Shayla was the first to reply, blurting out her first thought. "Well under the circumstances, she has good reasons."

"What do you mean?" The young maiden queried, struggling to stuff her carry on bag into the inadequate compartment provided above her seat.

Reluctantly releasing a deep sigh, the highly intelligent matron gingerly sat down on the large hard metal seat that felt more like a prison bench. "Well the Presidium is mostly inhabited by over grown males, with enormous egos who insist that every asari was created solely for their sexual pleasure." Contessa disclosed, feeling what little cushion there was give way around her.

The newest recruit plopped down next to her, repeating the exact opposite fashion in which the matron took her own seat. "That makes sense." Over hearing her commanding officer stoically speaking with the flight's captain, Aleris expressed, "I still don't think she likes me very much."

The matron could not help but feel for the junior huntress whose face crinkled at the thought of not pleasing her superior officer. Wrapping her arm around the young girl's shoulder, Contessa offered, "Don't worry about her. She'll come around, you'll see."

Quickly scanning back to the cockpit, to ensure she could not be heard by the annoyed matron, Shayla whispered, "Contessa, do you really think she will?"

The alluring asari smirked as the three of them looked in the direction of their squad leader. "If she ever wants to enjoy this magnificent body again she certainly better." The bold exclamation caused the two young maidens to stifle their uncontrollable snickering. Ignoring the other occupants of the craft, Contessa lightly placed her hand on Aleris' knee and gently stroked it. The subtle gesture physically signified her acceptance into the squad. "It will work out. It always does."

…

A/N: Thank you PMC65 for allowing me to use your kaffe beverage. *wink*


	14. Chapter 14 Top 50

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Fourteen: Top 50**

**Presidium**

Early the next morning, Vanessia stood before her squad at the front door of their designated asari chambers. The specialized rooms had been officer's quarters before being converted into a private sleeping area for asari by the humans. While their race did not have a problem hot racking it like the rest of the station, the Earth Alliance quickly discovered that their 'other' visitors had severe problems of wanting to crawl into a bed with the all-female race. Moments before heading out the door, the squadleader paced recalling how she forced her team to turn in early the night following their arrival at the human training facility.

Balancing on the heel of her left boot, the squadleader began, "Alright, listen up. This is not an asari station; so of course, some idiot is going to think we are a group of consorts and try their luck." Eyeing her two junior huntresses, the officer warned, "Keep close and report where you are at all times."

"What if I have to pee?" Aleris piped up, immediately taking the opportunity to defy her captain.

Ignoring the snarky comment, as it was meant to be, the stoic officer continued, "Anytime you must leave the group, I need to know." Glaring directly at the young maiden, the green eyed pureblood retorted, "And if you must, I'll have someone escort you."

Not backing down, the ornery huntress quipped, "I think I'm old enough to pee on my own just the same."

Now standing dangerously close to the asari's face, so that noncompliant commando could feel her senior officer's very breathe on her soft blue skin, Vanessia added, "I have no doubt about that Aleris, but there is safety in pairs." Interrupting the young huntress' meager protest, she conveyed, "Safety in pairs."

"Not all humans are bad." Contessa unexpectedly interrupted, attempting to educate the young warrior. Turning to her lover, the beautiful asari went on. "However, the mercs and certain military branches do always seem to try and prove themselves, for some unknown reason." Returning her gaze back to her junior maiden's, the lite blue eyed woman instructed, "I am told it is a male species thing, but that is not how all humans behave."

Cocking one hand on her hip, Vanessia gasped, "You're not going to start up about the artist again are you, that human female?"

"Melinda Wilson was quiet intelligent for her age. She was able to foresee far more than what others were able to comprehend over a lifetime." The mantis toting asari stated, shifting her weight so she was slightly blocking the clearly annoyed commando leader.

Still not impressed by the human the couple had last encountered during a visit to the Citadel, the asari captain shifted gears, "Alright, let's get going. We are scheduled for the first mission of the day."

The younger pair grumbled as they picked up their gear; while Contessa made a mental note to chastise her lover later for so blatantly pushing her story aside, as she slung her duffle bag over her shoulder.

…

"Shayla where are you?!" Hollered the squadleader.

A calm and refined voice answered back, "Behind you."

A quick glance over her shoulder did in fact reveal that her second youngest commando was in position, "Good" the senior officer replied.

From all the smoke on the training course, it had become very difficult for the team to see. Seeking refuge behind a large boulder, the two huntresses took point and waited. With dry eyes and labored breaths Vanessia and Shayla held their positions, allowing the puff of white cloudy substance to dissipate from the last explosion. Readying themselves in the sweltering heat for the next wave to begin, the pair prepared to cue their biotics at any given second.

This particular exercise was conducted inside a large cavernous dome that consisted of a rocky terrain. There was very little coverage and only a single tower that soared above providing any type of advantage. However, true to the hard map, the designers had intentionally created a long windy ramp on either side leading up to the metal perch, therefore, making it nearly impossible to climb without being hit by the onslaught of fictitious enemies. The signature map also included one last element of realisms for all those who entered. It was extraordinarily hot; making it hard to breath just from walking around, much less fighting in. It was this reason the centuries old asari had chosen it. She needed her commandos ready for anything, anywhere.

Captain Vanessia huddled behind the half broken rock with Lieutenant Shayla close behind. Barely catching their breaths, the fearless pair suddenly heard another loud explosion clear across the other side of the map. _Dammit! Tessa!_ She silently blasted, concerned for the matron. Touching her throat comm, the asari captain shouted, "Contessa, this is Vanessia! What is your position?!" Quickly peering over to her vanguard huntress, the seasoned warrior witnessed the maiden shaking off earth debris from her crest. Firmly gripping her Disciple shotgun, Shayla indicated to her captain she was ready to take action.

Still anxiously waiting to hear from her lover, the royal blue eyed asari heard only static fill the line. The two point guards leap frogged their way to several other smaller boulders that did not provide very much coverage. Shooting the last of the holographic enemies that were taking refuge around them, the asari huntress tried once again to connect with her team. Clearing her esophagus, the senior officer sternly submitted another request across the throat communicator. "Contessa, I say again! This is Vanessia! What is your position?!" However, there was still no answer. Glancing back at her junior officer, the Phaeston carrying asari swallowed hard before letting her worry rapidly consume her. "Contessa answer me!" The commando called out, touching her neck piece once more.

A voice suddenly resounded through the ear bud, but the tone was one of annoyance, rather than concern. "I am in the comm tower!" Aggravation filling her voice, "You are making it is hard to snipe with all that yelling dear."

_Thank the Goddess_ first entered the woman's mind before shooting back, "Is it too hard to just say comm tower?" The squadleader was just about to go into another location speech when a bullet whizzed past the asari captain's head, making her duck for cover. The humming sound left by the bullet's wake, informed Vanessia that the bullet was a little too close for comfort. The senior commando turned around to see a Cerberus trooper fall headless to the ground behind her. Immediately following the unexpected enemy, she heard her lover's sweet voice ring in her ears.

"Another headshot."

Through gritted teeth, the asari huntress twisted back around to see Contessa chambering another round in her beloved sniper rifle the Mantis.

"Here I am babe" informed the captain's lover with a twinge of spitefulness in her tone.

"I take it you are safe and sound up there?" questioned the worried superior.

Taking another peek through her visually enhanced scope, the privy matron responded, "Affirmative"

Knowing she was unable to properly vent at the moment, the seasoned huntress called out to her youngest commando. "Aleris, where are you?!"

"Right behind you." The young asari immediately answered.

Trying to shrug off her impressed expression, the squad leader barked, "Very well. Get ready for wave five."

Contessa, we will lead them right down to you." Vanessia disclosed, taking temporary refuge behind another large boulder.

"Like shooting hanar in the dessert, huh Tess?" Aleris blurted, stealing one of the commander's favorite sayings word for word.

The familiar line caused the beautiful huntress to laugh as Contessa responded over her comm. "Copy that Aleris"

The innocent pet name for the second in command made the asari captain cringe; hearing the young maiden refer to Contessa as Tess. It sounded too much like her pet name for the woman; Tessa. Slamming a new thermo clip in her assault rifle, the senior asari shouted to her squad. "Here we go huntresses; wave five!"

…

"Come on team. We can squeeze one more mission in before dinner." Vanessia said before entering back into the dome.

A moment later, the asari commando unit found themselves in another tactical simulator where the air was hot and muggy. As the lights flickered all around them, the quad quickly found themselves calf high in crystal clear water. Before the captain could explain how the water would cause the milky brown sand to cling to their boots and slow them down, Contessa reported, "I see they fixed the tide pool program" as she slowly lifted her boot out of the water.

"This isn't so bad" said the eager vanguard. With green eyes opened wide, Shayla soaked in every bit of the alluring scenery. There was a soft gentle breeze floating over the squad and a golden sun hanging high in the sky playing peekaboo with the large fluffy white clouds that drifted across the holographic heavens. The boot high liquid seemed to be enclosed by several large natural looking rocks. Lavishly decorating the boulders were a multiple vibrant green vines cascading down them, splashed with brilliantly colored orange flowers.

Capturing the third youngest commando's attention was a small flock of birds soaring above. Spinning around so considerably that she almost lost her footing because her boots were sticking in the sand, Shayla announced, "It is so beautiful".

"Right!" Aleris agreed, being careful not to make the same mistake. Mimicking her commanding officer's exaggerated steps to move easier in the deep water, the young maiden expressed, "Look how beautiful the water is."

"It often reminds me of the cool tide pools of Thessia." Looking to her lover that was more focused on making it to dry land, than the beauty of the map, Contessa added, "Is that not so Captain Vanessia?"

Twisting around, knowing she had missed the conversation, the huntress' royal blue eyes blinked a couple of times before she headed back towards shore. "Yeah. Yeah. Anything you say Tessa."

Figuring she would have her time in the sun and sand, the second in command lowered herself allowing her hands to dip into the cool refreshing stream. Without so much as a warning, the matron lifted her cupped hands and splashed large amounts of water at each unsuspecting maiden before her. Hearing the high pitched squeals delighted the centuries old asari.

The asari captain stood back and watched patiently, knowing better than to interfere with the splashing trio. Interrupting their play was a monotone chime booming overhead. "Five minutes until mission start."

Withdrawing her assault rifle from her back side, the senior huntress loaded and locked her favorite weapon. Striding forward, the huntress exclaimed, "Welcome to Virmire ladies. Now move out!"

The fellow teammates, knew playtime was over as they prepared themselves by pulling out their own guns and shaking the excess water off their crests.

Raising her voice to become louder than the rushing water around them, Vanessia explained, "Our task is to find, activate and defend four transmitters throughout this map."

Once on dry land, the youngest asari scanned the immediate area. "Sounds easy enough." She quipped, wiping the last bit of water from her brow.

Making their way up the first metal platform, the pureblooded squadleader declared, "Did I mention who the enemies were yet?"

Just then, a slew of armored plated machines came barreling towards them; assault rifles drawn. Their heavy metal feet slammed down hard against the grated pathways below. All of the synthetic creatures swayed in unison as high pitched signals bounced back and forth between them; allowing each and everyone of them to communicate as one.

Begrudgingly, Shayla was the fist to utter, "Great, geth!"

Sounding like the junior huntress she was, Aleris squealed like a youngling, "Vanessia! There is the first transmitter!"

…

Excitedly smacking her indigo hand down on the table again, the young asari vanguard blurted, "Goddess, I still can't believe how awesome that was?!"

Aleris roared immediately behind her fellow huntress, "I know right! I mean that was incredible!"

After finishing their evening meal, the squad members enjoyed their victories from the tactical exercises. Enthusiastically, the two maidens went into great detail about the day's missions as Contessa stared affectionately at her squadleader. Too hyper to realize how hard their captain had pushed them that day, the ecstatic team sat back listening as each story rolled on.

Diligent as ever, Vanessia scanned the cafeteria every so often, ensuring her squad was perfectly safe in their fatigued state. Recognizing every possible threat, the commando noted: three turians in the far corner going over their own scores, a large krogan devouring his food, while a small group of human males stared at the foursome every time one of the girls had an outburst. Taking note of a group of salarian infiltrators sauntering in between the tables, the seasoned huntress' hand slowly drifted to her rifle lying in her lap. She soon realized they were simply maximizing their route to their next assignment and her fingers relaxed over the barrel of the weapon.

Ripping the captain's attention back to the two junior commandos, Aleris animatedly explained, "Those geth had no idea what hit them when we jumped off that platform, huh Tess?"

The blue vanguard exclaimed, "I've never seen anything like that."

"My dear Shayla, I believe that is because it has never been attempted before." Said the second huntress in charge.

Huntress Vanessia reimagined the battle scenario as it unfolded, in which Aleris had jumped off the metal platform shortly after completing transmitter number two. Once on the sand, the gutsy maiden began attacking the geth from under the steel platform. Firing her weapon until it nearly overheated.

It had not taken her designated partner Contessa more than a breath, before she realized what the young huntress' intentions were. Not abandoning her teammate, the seasoned commando leapt off the steel walkway and into the sand along side Aleris. With Vanessia and Shayla pushing forward above and the other two commandos firing from below, the team made quick work of their follies; bringing them down in half the time it should have taken.

Touching her forearm, Huntress Contessa beamed, "You have to admit Vanessia it was a brilliant strategy. We did score within the top fifty percentile."

"Hell yeah we did!" Aleris shouted hitting the metal table again, drawing more unwanted attention than necessary. "I don't know how good twenty- seventh is, but it sure as shit felt good."

Rapidly scanning the dinning hall again, the senior commando urged, "Ok. Ok. But keep it down, we don't need any unnecessary attention."

"On the contrary, I think we did a really good job and the girls deserve to celebrate." Her lover surprisingly defied the request.

Glaring in the direction of small band of turians, the veteran huntress asari started, "Besides…"

"Besides? What new team breaks into the top fifty on their first day?!" Aleris interjected this time, repeating her favorite saying for the day,


	15. Chapter 15 So You Think

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Fifteen: So You Think You Can Fight?**

A small group of all male marines glanced in the direction of the three clearly disturbed turians. When the avian soldiers showed no further interest, besides a few glaring stares, the humans decided to take matters into their own hands. They finally had enough of the boisterous asari squad, especially after the men had been training for years and had only just broke forty nine. The group rose and arrogantly marched towards the loud commando team, passing by a large battlemaster who was still devouring his evening meal.

Catching sight of possible trouble, Huntress Vanessia's chair suddenly slammed back down on all four legs and she watched the group of men continue towards the far side of the room. The head asari knew this human troop was bound to cause unnecessary trouble as they strutted past the avian trio; who were still conversing amongst themselves. Her cobalt finger slid over the trigger of her rifle and the rest of her commando unit went silent, watching the humans approach.

"Four against eight…" The krogan suddenly belted, causing several of the men to slow their pace at the other end of the table and look in his direction. "Hardly seems like a fair fight."

The largest male in the group, who was littered with tattoos, gripped his oversized rifle and returned, "Those little blue bitches don't belong here. So we are going to teach them a little lesson on where their true place is."

Ripping the flesh from the bone of his diner, the unknown battlemaster muttered with a chortle of sort, "And good luck with that."

Glaring back over at the squad of asari, the man in need of a clean shave stated, "I hear they can be quite resilient." He was becoming more annoyed by the second because the women continued to stand their ground despite the lopsided numbers. Bragging, the apparent lead of the pack continued, "But this won't take very long."

"But four against eight…" the krogan grumbled, in the likes that Vanessia could have sworn was a chuckle. "You're going to need more men." The massive warrior quipped, snapping another large bone in two. The comment caused the human's head to shoot around so sharply, he surely injured himself. "You evidently don't know much about asari." Barely glancing up from his meal, the enormous fighter concluded, "I hope you had a good life. Even I'm not that stupid to go against a squad of asari commandos."

The brazen human was just about to dispute the krogans statement when he glanced between the disapproving turian soldiers and the somewhat glowing asari. He watched as the blue squad leader slowly rose to her feet; allowing her physical presence to be her only warning before taking what ever necessary steps she needed to protect her team. Contemplating the krogans words once more, the human boss lowered his weapon and instructed, "Come on guys, they aren't worth the effort." With lifted chins, his fellow marines followed their gunny chief's orders and languidly left the chow hall.

As trained, the highly skilled commandos never took their eyes off the battalion until the irritating humans had left. Peering over to the apparently starving krogan, the seasoned huntress offered her gratitude, "Thanks."

From the slit of his left eye, the large warrior shot back, "Don't thank me. I know what asari are capable of. I've seen them in action for myself." There was another long intended pause as the mighty combatant swallowed another chunk of meat, "Besides, I didn't want my peaceful dinner getting ruined."

The senior asari sighed heavily as she turned back to her squad, and for the first time there were no snide remarks or friendly back talk. A simple and decisive order trickled off her lips, "Time to go." Swiftly gathering up their belongings, the cohesive unit filtered out of the room as their protective captain watched from behind.

A few minutes later, the youngest squad member flopped heavily onto her bed. "What was that all about?"

"Don't worry about it." Vanessia replied, slinging her bag onto her own mattress. "There are just some species out there that hate being bested."

From under her breath Contessa added her own little comment, turning away from her lover. "They aren't the only ones."

Spinning around, having the intuition that her beloved had said something smart, the asari matron quipped, "What was that Tessa?"

"Oh nothing dear."

Rolling her eyes, the seasoned huntress returned her attention back to Aleris. "Well, you'd better get a good night's rest youngling."

"Why is that Captain Atalaya?" The maiden questioned, lifting herself up to her elbows.

Sitting down on her own bed, the senior officer slowly started unbuckling the clamps on her boot, "Because, it is about time we see how skilled you really are Aleris Ankour." The matron barely paused, moving to her other leg, "If you want to make it on my squad, I need to know if you are worthy." Not allowing the maiden to go on another spill about how good she was, the senior officer continued, "I already scheduled you for individual matches starting at 0730 tomorrow morning."

Sitting up, the excited and yet suddenly nervous maiden crossed her feet and enthusiastically questioned, "Really?!"

Kicking off her leather boots, the asari captain concluded, "If what you say is true about your fighting style…" Vanessia smirked sideways at Contessa before adding, "…then tomorrow should present you with the opportunity to _shine_." 

…

With labored breaths interrupting her smooth tone, the young commando questioned with a twinge of excitement. "How'd I do?"

Sliding an arm around the maiden giving her a partial hug, the mantis toting huntress asked, "Aleris, how do you think you did in the battle evaluation?"

Resting her hands on her hips, still trying to catch her breath, the maiden returned, "To be honest, it was easier than I thought it would be."

Steering her team towards the exit, the squad leader ushered them down the hall, "Well, we aren't going to see her score down here. Let's head on up to the main control room."

Just as excited as her maiden counterpart, Shayla hyped, "Yeah, so everyone can see your score."

Fastening the leather strap over her pistol, to ensure its safe keeping, Aleris huffed, "Only if it's good."

"Of course it will be" said Contessa. She could already tell by the look on the senior huntress' face, that the young maiden had done very well in the simulator.

Standing in front of the standard monitor screen, Vanessia commanded the seated salarian operator, "Bring up the results for Aleris Ankour."

"What is the unit number?" The intellectual man wearing a long white coat questioned flatly.

Glancing back at her highly expectant squad, the asari captain replied in an equally stoic tone. "K065." A moment later, several names appeared on the medium sized screen. Flickering like a slot machine for second, the junior huntress' name suddenly appeared on the holographic display.

"Hot damn!" screamed the zealous asari. Gripping the hands of her newest best friend, she and Shayla began jumping up and down in exhilaration inside the central command center.

"Holy mother of Goddess!" Contessa blurted, suddenly drawing the attention of everyone around her. The two commandos squealed louder than before, hearing the unexpected comment from their second in command.

Vanessia stood crossed arm behind her team as they celebrated; forever keeping a watchful eye over her charges. Secretly beaming, the senior officer looked up and read the outcome exactly as it appeared on the screen.

"I want to see it on the big screen! I want to see it on the big screen!" Aleris squealed.

Touching the salarian on the shoulder, the enthusiastic recruit pleaded, "Put it on the big screen, please."

Suddenly feeling Contessa's elbow to her rib cage, Vanessia growled, "Yes, I can read." Faltering to her lover's demands, the internally proud commando read the gigantic screen aloud. "Aleris Ankour – 79 kills out of 80 – ranked fourth on best time overall."

The senior captain decided it would be best not to allow word to spread too quickly of her young commando's success. After all, she did not need some gun toting egotistical team, pretending to be cowboys, challenging her unit to a match for kicks. Frowning at the idea, she imagined how her squad would end up spending the next several days settling all the grudge matches. Adjusting within her tight fitting armor the experienced huntress refocused. Her was squad was there to work together, not to wipe the floor with everyone else.

Snapping herself out of her own trance, the senior matron announced, "Ok miss happy pants, let's get out of here." Knowing her team did want to leave immediately without a fuss, the asari captain offered, "First round of drinks on me."

Stunned even as she moved in the direction her mentor guiding her, the young recruit remarked, "Number four, can you believe it? Number four." Placing one foot in front of the other, Aleris gloated, "I knew I was good, but I didn't know I was _that good_."

Heading down one of the large corridors, the proud squadmate disclosed, "Aleris, you must be really good. I didn't even see a single asari name within the top ten."

"I noticed that too Shayla. Isn't that amazing?"

Turning to face her junior commando, Contessa released a deep sigh. "That is because Aleris' score, as most other asari's, will be erased by morning." The asari matron informed, staring directly into the maiden's ocean blue eyes.

"But why?" The young huntress asked, sounding extremely disappointed.

Filling in the silent gap, the senior huntress explained, "The asari republics don't allow the rest of the galaxy to know how well their commandos rank." Patting the maiden on the shoulder, Vanessia continued, "We are commandos – part of our strategy is striking when our enemies least expect it. Flashing our scores all over doesn't help."

"… even our damn impressive scores?" Aleris instinctually retaliated.

With great understanding, the superior officer smiled and stated with a twinge of playfulness in her voice, "Yes, including your damn impressive score." Watching the once blustery winds fill the sails of the joyful maiden die out, Vanessia urged, "Follow me pup, we will make a stop by the munitions store before we head to the bar." Gently wrapping an arm around the youngest squadmember as they walked, the matron added, "I need to pick something up there."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%%

**A/N:** The opening scene was taken directly from my own military experience in which a group of men didn't like that a woman scored better than them and they attempted to some how rectify that. Much like this chapter, they too ended up walking away with their tails tucked between their legs, however after an actual confrontation_**. "I am woman, hear me ROAR!"**_


	16. Chapter 16 The Reward

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Sixteen: The Reward**

The asari squad stood silently gawking beneath a flashing green neon light. Glaring back down on them was a large humming electric billboard with bulky block letters daringly displaying the name of the munitions store mounted high above them. It took a few wayward glances from her lover and back to the sign, for Contessa to realize she had never paid attention to the store's name before. The young huntress Shayla squinted, trying to figure out how a store got such an unusual name.

The youngest recruit knew exactly what the headline was shouting to every patron who passed by; perhaps from spending a bit too much time on Omega. It wasn't until Aleris blurted out the establishment's name, that anyone said anything. "Shoot your load?!" Eyes still pealed to the bright lights above, the young maiden stated, "Well, that's a moronic name for a store."

"It is rather unusual isn't it?" returned the squad's second in command.

Knowing exactly what the human phase meant, the senior huntress placed her hands on her own cocked hips, and reluctantly expressed, "Look, I didn't name the place. I just buy ammo here." Shayla and Aleris shared a mixture of giggles and subtle jokes as they tried to imagine their fearless leader coming up with such a vulgar term. Realizing that Contessa was still trying to figure out the sign's meaning, Huntress Vanessia urged, "Come on. Let's just go inside, ok?" Pleasantly forgetting about the puzzle for the moment, the intelligent huntress happily followed her junior commandos inside the establishment.

Inside the cramped store were numerous weapons displayed in large clear cases. Each gun was proudly exhibited by type and then segregated by two more fractions; new and used. As the entire squad entered the establishment, Vanessia remembered that the store keeper seemed to always have more used weapons than new ones; which to the asari, was simply not acceptable. The squad commander figured it was because someone scored higher than they typically did and celebrated by upgrading. Chuckling, the asari captain pondered, after all isn't that what brought her there today.

Trying to ignore the bad odor than lingered in the small shop, the senior huntress leaned against one of the glass cabinets, scrupulously eyeing up the youngest commando at her side. To the newest recruit she briefly felt as if the captain was mentally measuring her for a new suit of leathers. Forcing the nervousness of the relentless glare to pass, Aleris hastily mimicked the captain's posture hiding; her own discomfort. Smothering her face with a smirk, the zealous maiden teased, "Like what you see Huntress?"

While her superior officer further inspected the weaponry in the establishment, Shayla marveled over the shop's collection with Aleris. Glancing to her left, she noticed her second in command was checking out sniper rifles and seemed to be focused on a particular one. "Do you need a new sniper rifle Contessa?" Huntress Shayla questioned, approaching her teammate.

Modestly keeping her hands close to her person, the lovely commando returned, "Oh no dear. I would never part with my Justine. The mantis has a fast reload speed: holds three in the chamber, twenty times zoom lens is all I need. She is three feet of pure pleasure."

Curiously watching the young maiden blush a dark shade of azure, the unsuspecting commando continued, "I've had her for a while now. She is all this girl needs."

By now, Shayla was in an outright fluster of laughter. "All a girl needs."

"What is so funny Shay?"

Attempting to calm herself and failing miserably, the junior commando breathlessly replied, "Think about what you just said."

The blank stare remained on the huntress' face.

"Three feet of pure pleasure?"

Still no reaction from the privy asari.

Sensing the stare of her commanding officer behind her, Shayla disappointedly exhaled and offered, "Never mind. I guess it wasn't that funny after all."

The veteran commando simply rolled her eyes as Shayla stifled another bout of senseless giggles. Turning her attention to the fat man behind the counter wearing a forest green camouflage vest and matching hat, the superior officer mused to herself, _where exactly will he be blending in with a getup like that on an all metal ship? Oh Goddess, humans sometimes. _Shaking her humorous thoughts, the asari matron turned back to her team and saw them deep in conversation. Completing her visual examination of the junior huntress, the senior huntress twisted back around and placed her hands on the edge of the glass counter.

"What can I do for you pretty ladies?" The man creepily greeted them.

The senior asari had to stifle the urge to gag when his bad breath got a little too close for comfort, "Let me see that M-6 carnifex pistol." Vanessia stated, ignoring his feeble attempt of flattering the asari team.

Slightly annoyed that the lavender asari apparently knew the piece well, the smelly shop attendant grumbled as he retrieved the weapon. He still could not get over the fact that asari were such excellent combatants, especially since they were so feminine looking. In his mind, the best kind of asari was one laying flat on her back; and not fiercely fighting back was even better.

Correcting the human just before his hand wrapped around the barrel of the carnifex, the senior huntress interjected, "The new one! Please. We asari never buy used."

Briefly glancing backwards at the group, the gunsmith hissed under his breath, "Oh yeah, sorry about that."

However, visiting the ill named establishment many times before, Vanessia was aware the human knew better. How many times had she reminded him politely of the fact? The matron gritted her teeth and waited for the sloth of a man to hurry; secretly wishing to send a biotic pulse in his direction.

The two junior huntresses gawked in silence as the store operator removed the pistol from its resting place.

Finally slamming the pistol hard onto the glass top, the shopkeeper announced, "Here you go."

Pretending to read his name tag, stitched onto his ridiculous camouflaged jacket, the asari captain who had patronized there at least a dozen times, pretended to pronounce it. "Daannn. That's your name. Thank you Daann."

The man seethed under his skin. The two had certainly come to know one another and it was as he called it a, 'Love / Hate' relationship. He loved to hate her. But that was no surprise to the seasoned huntress as the feeling was extremely mutual.

The two maiden's pupils dramatically dilated as they marvel over the shinny weapon. Even Contessa was drawn in by the excitement as she moved closer to the trio.

The senior commando picked it up and began to carefully inspect the pistol by chambering the weapon; checking the slide. Raising the piece to eye level, she pointed it behind the counter checking its line of site.

The fat man agitatedly yapped, "Hey, lady! Careful with that thing. It's not a toy you know." Shifting his enormous weight behind the counter, Dan added with a twinge of spite in his tone. "You know that thing is made for killing people, not picking out dresses?"

Glaring at the poorly dressed man, the pureblood mentally blasted him. She had been handling multiple weapons, grand and small, before than his great, great, grandfather was born. Blowing off the human's misplaced concern, the commando pointed the barrel at the main's crotch before abruptly pulling it back. "It does make things appear awfully small."

The man who smelled of oil and sweat huffed at the insult. Leaning heavily on the counter the foul man barked, "Look you wanna buy it or is it too much for a girl like you?"

"Made by Kassa Fabrication, the M-6 Carnifex is a heavy pistol that has a fire rate of 145 rounds per minute, with a reload time of 1.43 seconds. Its base distance is 85.4 meters and can slice through 1.5 inch armor and 1.7 inch thick shields. The clip holds six shots with thirty in the reserve." The veteran huntress rambled without fault, showing off her expert knowledge of weaponry, as the shopkeeper just stood there frowning.

Sensing that the foul man was not impressed at all, the captain finished her spill. "The high caliber, high recoil "Magnum" pistol has a slower fire rate than other weapons its size, but more than makes up for it with its lite weight and massive damage. In fact, Kassa's marketing materials feature a charging krogan with the slogan, 'Don't you wish Carnifex was at your side?'"

Trailing her hands over the fine piece, it had become clear the senior officer had made up her mind. Without hesitation, she quickly tossed the pistol to her junior officer. "How about I relieve you of such a prestigious weapon?" Vanessia mocked, hardly glancing in the man's direction.

Aleris swiftly caught the unexpected flying projectile. The younger maiden quickly began to marvel at its beauty; holding it in her hands. Her gaze barely rising to see her commanding officer, the maiden's gloved hands smoothed over the barrel of the pistol before she declared. "Wow! It's beautiful."

Directing her voice right at the young huntress, Vanessia added, "The highly accurate and lethal sidearm is also the favored weapon of the Eclipse." Watching the commando mouth the words Eclipse before she took a hard dry gulp, the senior officer asked, "That won't be a problem, will it Aleris?" Shifting her body back against the glass cabinet, the mentor questioned, "I mean you're not going to run off and join the Eclipse sisters are you?"

Allowing the pistol to drop absentmindedly to her side, the zealous commando shot back, "Vanessia, I think I am a little too old to be joining a mercenary group."

Knowing that technically Aleris had at least 125 years left of her maiden stage to resist the urge to run off, the captain felt the young recruit was a natural asari commando and would serve the Asari Republics well for centuries to come.

Interrupting her pleasant thoughts, the gunsmith protested the gift to the clearly young recruit. "Do you know how much that thing cost little lady? It's not a toy."

Beginning to loose her patience with the vulgar man, the senior asari glanced over to her lover trying to find calmness from her rising anger.

Instinctually knowing what her lover was feeling, Contessa casually shook her head no, encouraging her lover not to do anything rash.

Shayla covertly slid her hand behind the small of her back and unfastened the holster to her shotgun. By this point, even the second most junior huntress knew her captain was boiling at the seams. She would be ready, should an unexpected eruption of gun fire were to ensue.

"How much for the pistol?"

Mischievously chuckling to himself, the store attendant snapped, "Nine thousand credits."

Contessa was the first to retort about the absurd price, "Vanessia, it only cost six thousand on the Citadel."

"I'll take it!" The senior commando proudly replied. Smiling at her youngest charge, she continued, "It's hers now."

"What?!" blasted the obese man.

The enamored maiden stammered as she could not believe her own ears, "This….is…it's…just…I mean…" The girl could not find the words fast enough.

Heartily chuckling over the group, Vanessia chimed, "For the first time, Aleris is speechless. Now that is priceless."

Still taken by the stunning weapon, the junior huntress declared, "I can't possible accept this..."

Interjecting, the senior commando stated, "Of course you can. I've given everyone on my team their perfect weapon."

Cradling the carnifex in her azure hands, Aleris said, "I don't understand."

"I gave Shayla the disciple and phaeston, Contessa has her favored mantis, and now you have the carnifex."

The girl began to sputter when Vanessia reached out to take back the weapon. "That is unless you don't want it? I'm sure Dan wouldn't mind…" The seasoned warrior had not even finished her sentence before the younger commando quickly spun around to protect her newly prized possession as if it were a new baby.

"No, No, that is ok. I believe I should…" the maiden's hand floated over the fine craftsmanship. "I mean I should at least try it out for a few days and all."

Beaming, the senior huntress playfully slammed her fist on the counter, "Well that settles it. It's a done deal."

Before the human male could spout off another inappropriate protest, Vanessia continued, "… regardless of the price and don't go trying to jack up the price any further, I know how much they cost. Trust me the last thing you want is an asari team up your ass squabbling over the price of a pistol that will be in our possession." The woman's eyes glared at the meniscal of a man.

Through slit eyes the shopkeeper glared at the squad leader. "Fine. Now take your business elsewhere asari."

"It would be our pleasure" Contessa's melodic voice chimed out, slicing through the stale air.

Outside the gun store, Aleris was the first to speak. "Damn!" Did you see the look on his face?"

"Right? He didn't know what to say." Retorted Shayla as her green eyes glistened in excitement.

Continuing their banter, which was becoming typical now a days, the other maiden returned, "Hell he looked like he was gonna piss his pants." Looking in her superior's direction, she swelled, "That was so cool!"

When no reaction came from her captain, the youngest asari turned to her second in command, practically skipping backwards in front of her. "Wasn't that amazing?"

"Yeah she is something else alright." Contessa declared, beaming as she looked at her lover.

A/N: Thank you Bioware Wiki for the technical data on the Carnifex as well as other Mass Effect weaponry. I sounded really smart thanks to you.


	17. Chapter 17 One Beautiful Night

**The Huntress **

**Chapter 17 **

**One beautiful night… **

After several months and multiple dangerous missions, the newly formed asari commando unit had assuredly developed into one extremely lethal cohesive unit. It was on one quiet afternoon that, while the team was taking a well-deserved break on Illium, the youngest squad member turned to her commanding officer; who had just received a goodbye kiss from her lover. Observing the two very chummy commandos, the fervent asari could not help but vocalize her curiosity, "So, how did you two become lovers?"

The captain's head slowly drifted upwards from the data pad that she had been reading for the last hour. Tilting her head to the side, the seasoned huntress inquired cautiously, "How _who _became lovers?" Although the senior officer knew exactly what the junior huntress was asking, she wanted to know _why_ she was inquiring.

It was about that time that the only other asari in the room slowly dropped her tablet bouncing her view between the other maiden and her mentor. "Yeah. How about it? I don't even know that." Resting her chin in her palm, Shayla's eyes pleaded far too much for the matron to resist.

"Well, I guess we some have time since Tessa has gone shopping for a new dress… or two. She absolutely hates it when I tell this story." Placing her data pad on the glass table aside of the large comfy couch, Vanessia started, "Ok, I think I was around…"

As it had become typical, the youngest commando interjected the seasoned huntress as she grabbed a large pillow. "Wait! Wait!" Rising, she stepped over her teammate to better situate herself on the edge of the couch the senior huntress was resting on. Holding the pillow snuggly against her chest, the newest recruit conveyed, "I have to get real comfy for this story."

Without prompting, Huntress Shayla followed suit until she was resting next to Aleris staring glossy eyed at the would-be story teller. "Ok, I'm ready too."

Felling like a older sister, Vanessia warmly smiled at each huntress before she mockingly clear her voice as if she were about to deliver an acceptance speech. "Well as you know, it happened a long, long time ago." With their chins buried in the folded hands, the asari matron began her story.

_It was probably around a decade or two after I had taken command of my own squad. That year had been a pretty rough one, and at the end of our tour, I decided that I needed a little time to myself to blow off some steam. I just needed to get away; away from being in charge, away from following orders without question, away from all that death and chaos. So one night while the team was on break at Nos Astros, I headed out for the evening. _

_When I walked into Solar Flares, I had only planned on having a few drinks and perhaps find at a little eye candy here and there; nothing big. The music was pumping so loud, I could feel it vibrating in my chest as I looked over the club for a few minutes, quickly eying up the crowd for any signs of trouble and the closest escape route if needed._

"Come on Captain! You going to give us a debriefing or tell us how you two met?" whined the youngest commando.

Begrudgingly, the girl's mentor twisted, "Look, you want to hear the story or not?"

"Of course I do, but…"

It was Vanessia's turned to cut off the youngest maiden before she had time to finish, "Then you have to hear the whole story, not just the good parts."

Accepting defeat, the junior officer pouted, "Alright. Sitting here quietly now."

"Good." Tapping her forefinger to her lips, the senior pureblood pondered, "Now where was I? Oh yeah…"

_After scanning the club, I spotted a bar in the back of the establishment that seemed more secluded than the others, so I headed over to it. Slapping the hard dark wood surface, I ordered up a strong drink. I don't even think I remember tasting it. About 5 seconds after the glass hit the counter, I ordered another one; slammed that one too. That bartender must have had a degree in mixing drinks, because it didn't take more than five minutes before I felt really relaxed, or numb. Even now I can't say for sure which it was. _

_With my third drink in hand, I decided to take this one a lot slower and gradually sipped the brim of the thick glass. Feeling more tranquil, I leisurely twisted around and used my elbows to prop myself up on the bar. The dance club was entertaining enough; watching what few humans there were try to keep up with the smoldering asari. The uncoordinated humans looked to be flailing more than gliding, like we do. Laughing at it now, it was quite a sight; but enough of that for now, moving on. Actually beginning to enjoy myself, I surveyed the rest of the club. And that's when it happened. _

"What happened?" shot back the youngest huntress.

Fixated on the asari maiden, the senior officer explained, "You going to let me tell the story, or do you want to ruin it?"

Sulking, Aleris answered solemnly, "Go ahead, I'm sorry. No more interruptions."

Under her loving breath, the captain exhaled, "That will be the day." Relaxing back on the couch, Vanessia continued, "That is when I saw the most amazing woman I had ever laid my eyes on."

"Was it Contessa?" blurted the zealous asari.

The senior huntress answered with a quick sideways nod of her crest.

"What was her name then?" Her second maiden eagerly quizzed.

Dropping her face in the palm of her hands, the eldest pureblood sighed before speaking again. "You really want me to stop, huh?"

Practically begging, the two junior officers pleaded, "No! No! Please go on. We won't say another word. Promise!"

"Very well. Now where was I? Oh yes."

_I didn't know her name, but I had become instantly smitten. I had never seen such a beautiful creature before. Her radiant eyes were the first thing that caught my attention. They were sky blue. The rich color reminded me of the skies on Thessia. Our eyes must have locked on for a few moments as neither of us broke the gaze until she suddenly blushed and turned away. Her cheeks flushed heavily as she attempted to keep herself averted, but her eyes sought me out once more before returning to her companions. _

_The new found mystery woman was sitting in a luxurious padded booth that was sectioned off from the rest of the club. The white seating had a bird's eye view of the whole place. My view remained fixated and my lovely was pretending as if she was not peeking back until one of her confidants caught her stealing a glance in my direction. The woman with her back towards me suddenly turned around and scrutinized me from head to toe before quickly returning her attention back to the table. She must have said something funny, because several of them laughed heartily for a moment before they all turned to look at me. I took a few cautious steps away from the bar and now stood completely alone without as much as a table to offer support or refuge. _

_I couldn't help feeling instinctually drawn to this woman. At first, I simply wanted to know her name. If I could only learn that, this beautiful creature that made me weak in the knees and my heart pound wildly in my chest, then I could die a happy death. Knowing that I only allowed myself little pleasures; I had to know her name, as I would probably remember those eyes and that angelic face for the rest of my life. _

_She was incredibly alluring. Her eyes were piercing blue and they penetrated my soul. Accentuating the color of her irises were the most delicate of markings along her temples and cheeks. They were soft and subtle, not like the kind I was used to seeing as a commando. I could tell by their accurate placement that a highly skilled matriarch marked her. Glancing around at the secluded table, she was clearly not beyond the small fortune it must have cost. Cerulean and plump lips with just the right curvature at the ends beckoned me; I couldn't stop gawking and wondered how delicious they must taste. Attempting to regain clarity, I told myself, you'll be lucky if you even get her name. _

_Trying not to look too obvious that I was staring, I scanned the private area. Judging by the glamorous booth she was in, I figured she was the daughter of someone important. She and her companions were dressed to kill. They looked as if they had planned on doing more than patronizing a dance club. The enchanted woman looked so prestigious, sitting there with her hands folded neatly on the table. I was ready to walk away suddenly aware there no chance for me with this beautiful creature. However, when she finally smiled or rather blushed at me, I knew I would never know peace until I found out her name._

_Feeling bold and perhaps a little tipsy, I approached the quartet. Wayward stares from the party warned me to keep my distance. But, it was too late for me to turn back for the damage had already been done; I was hooked on this mystery lady. I thought to myself, they can't mind terribly if I simply ask the woman's name. So I marched up to the white booth, all calm, cool and collect. My steps were well placed and confident. I felt as if I was exhibiting the finest qualities an asari commando had to offer, while in reality I was a wreck inside. _

_Advancing on the war room, I saw more clearly the expensive attire the young women were wearing. One was adorned in a satin green dress, another in soft metallic pink gown and the third was in a sparkling opal colored dress. The woman I couldn't stop staring at was wearing a beautiful, long white gown with a subtle royal blue stripe that stretched from her high neckline to the floor; covering even her shoes. Instantly I could tell all of the girls were of privileged lifestyles, never would they see the awful things I had seen. Thinking back now, that is what drove me on. I needed a happy thought that would help me get through the rough times, even when I doubted myself. Seeing her so close, drove it home even further that her face would become that happy memory I needed. _

_Just before I drew nearer to the alluring asari, I heard the woman in the green dress with her back turned to me state to my heart's desire, "You know you can do better than her." _

"_Right!" The one in the semi loud pink dressed blurted, sharing her opinion as well._

_Sure that my mind was made up, I continued my way towards them. _

"_I can't believe she is coming over here." Another one of them said; her glittering white dress crinkled as she moved awkwardly in her seat. She seemed more embarrassed than the other two. _

_Ignoring the snide remarks of her fellow companions, the lovely blue rose again smiled at me before blushing. It was so adorable when her face turned to the side without completely loosing eye contact with me. _

_Now within arm's reach, I daringly leaned on the edge of the private party's booth. "Hello there beautiful, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling me your name." I asked with a bout of arrogance in my voice._

_The bold woman who dared not give me the respect I was worthy of, barely twisted around in her green dress and answered for her friend, "She is not interested in a pyjack." _

_The pink dress matron was quick to follow up with a sniveling remark of her own. "She is out of your league dirt farmer." _

_Sensing that the table was in unison with the statement, I abruptly lifted off the cushion's corner. Swallowing what little pride I had left, I thought about leaving. My knuckles gripped the back of the booth and I thought, just as I had many times in battle, 'Now or never'. Within a flick of an eye, I stood erect and reached out my hand, asking for hers. "May I have this dance with the most beautiful angel I have ever seen?"_


	18. Chapter 18 Pounding Heart

**The Huntress**

**Chapter 18 **

**Pounding Heart **

_To my absolute surprise, she gently laid her clutch purse on the table, and accepted the hand awaiting her. _

_Before I knew it, we were gracefully swaying to the beat of the music. Looking around I could see that everyone else was moving at a lot faster pace than we were, however that was fine by us; we had found our own perfect rhythm. It seemed the longer the song played, the more we tuned out everything around us, and the more we became lost in each other. _

_I was spontaneously captivated by every voluptuous curve as her hips swayed seductively under her long white dress. It was enchantingly hypnotic. I tried to mentally pinch myself several times; I could not believe this ravishing woman was dancing with me. Simply being in her presence was beyond intoxicating. _

_We danced for a while until the relentless glares from her friends become too much. I nervously cleared my throat and asked, "Do you want to go somewhere… quieter?" _

_Joyfully relieved, she eloquently responded, "I would love to." Peeking back at her friends, she informed me, "They can be such a bore at times." _

_I'm sure my smile was brighter than the brightest sun at the moment because she quickly retrieved her small purse from the table. With me in tow, she told her companions, "Don't wait up." In a flash we were headed out of the club and a few minutes later we were taking a nice pleasant stroll through a quiet park. It was very clean and free of others except the occasional mixed species lovers taking in the spectacular midnight sky. _

_It was extremely hard to focus on anything but her beauty and grace. Never before had I dreamed of such a perfect Goddess, and now I was standing right next to one. I did not want this evening to end. I did not want to let her out of my site for even a moment. Not yet, I just couldn't. _

"Wait! I thought you were in love with Contessa. Who is this lady?" disputed Vanessia's most junior commando.

On her heels, the second maiden offered her two cents, "Yeah, I don't think I like the way this story is going? Are you sure that wasn't Contessa?"

Releasing a deep sigh, the senior officer explained, "This isn't some fairy tale, this is what really happened." Turning her piercing gaze between the two, the pureblood divulged, "…and I am very sorry, but Huntress Contessa came in much later."

Defiant to the bitter end, Aleris retaliated, "Then why are we hearing about 'this' mystery woman?"

"I am telling you this now, because as it is all relevant. Like I said, you have to hear the whole story. I can't just jump right in the middle. And Tessa hates this part."

Under her breath, Shayla retorted, "I can see why."

Thrusting back into the couch, Aleris threw up her arms, "Fine, but I'm just letting you know right now, I don't like this 'blue rose' you keep raving about."

Mimicking the protest of her fellow maiden, Shayla also sat back in her seat, "Me either!"

Rolling her own eyes, the asari matron exhaled, "Fine" as she shifted a bit uneasy in her seat continuing with her story.

_I was watching the hem of my blue rose's dress float inches off the ground as she walked, when I realized I was resisting the urge to reach out and hold her hand. Although she had dragged me out of the club like a rag doll, she had held me by the wrist and we had not yet actually made skin to skin contact. My gaze slowly started making its way up her dress until I was staring at the bare skin of her fingers beneath her long sleeve gloves. So badly did I want to entwine my lavender fingers amongst hers. _

_It had barely been a fleeting moment before we both caught each other's adoring glance. In that instant we abruptly stopped and slowly inched closer. Engrossed in a spellbinding stare, our hands seemed to have a mission of their own as they independently sought out the other's, until we were not only touching but holding hands. The softness of her skin, and her rousing scent felt like something I had known for centuries. _

_Not taking our eyes off each other, we were practically nuzzling when I murmured, "Well, it's too late to go anywhere and too early to turn in."_

_Releasing a deep sigh, my lovely responded, "I know." Suddenly grinning from ear to ear she whispered, which was barely audible, "I am certainly not in a hurry to end this lovely evening so suddenly either."_

_My heart must have leapt from my chest when she said that. The deafening pounding in my bosom made me nearly miss her next muttered words, "Do you feel it as well?" _

_Peering directly into those blue eyes, I slowly moistened my lips as I eagerly questioned, "Feel what?"_

_A moment or two past by before I lifted her chin with my index finger and she finally confessed, "This feeling within has me completely perplexed, but I can no longer hide this overwhelming compulsion towards…" Her gentle eyes were staring directly into mine. "…you." My mystery woman's words were so soft, and nervous, yet confident. _

_Stifling a laugh I declared, "I thought it was just me." As soon as a glorious wave washed over me, I soon found myself bare as the tide withdrew. Remembering my occupation, my adoring smirk melted into a solemn frown. _

"_I can't give you anything beyond tonight; my lifestyle doesn't allow it. I wish I could explain more, but it is forbidden." Immediately thinking the worst, I awaited her response. _

_An all too understanding grin stretched across her face. "You took the words right out of my mouth." Caressing the side of my cheek with the back of her hand, she whispered, "You only saw part of my background. My tomorrow is not mine to give away."_

_Our foreheads gently rested upon each others when I affectionately offered, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." Her sapphire eyes immediately dropped to the ground again. I couldn't believe that one so beautiful, so magnificent, wasn't used to someone telling her that. But as I was beginning to get to know her, I was getting the impression she had heard it a million times before, but was only now willing to believe it. _

_Returning her tender caress, I swallowed hard, and gulped, "Well if tonight is all we have…" I paused for a moment before she eloquently finished for me. _

"…_then let us make the best of it." _


	19. Chapter 19 Resort Defututa

**The Huntress**

**Chapter 19 **

**Resort Defututa – Room 7312 **

_Needless to say we ended up sleeping together that night. _

"Whoa! Whoa! I don't want to hear this part." Aleris protested, swiftly reaching her feet. "I'm outta here." The young huntress angrily stomped across the room.

With crinkled face, her best friend yelled, "Where are you going?!"

A short and quick answer returned, "To the bathroom!"

Tossing her pillow to the side, Shayla immediately joined her companion, shooting her superior officer a disapproving glare. "Me too."

The senior huntress' head fell back onto the edge of the couch. Too caught up with the erotic story, her mind slowly replayed that evening's events.

_Goddess she was intoxicating, that night we spent at Resort Defututa in room 715 is one I will never forget. It had taken a little convincing from my alluring companion, but she succeeded in persuading me to visit the asari run resort. And before I knew it; we caught a skycab, checked in, and were standing in a faintly-lit suite on the seventh floor. _

_The way she sashayed across the room was more arousing than any dancer I had ever seen. I felt like I was in some sex scene of a movie. As the faint shadows outlined her voluptuous figure, she begged for me to come closer by her yearning gaze alone. I irresistibly complied of course. Our fingers slowly intertwined as if it were our very first time ever. I remember feeling a knot in my stomach when I leaned in to kiss her, I felt like a centuries old maiden again. _

_This time with my hand within hers, she led me into another amber lit room. Taking up nearly half of the enormous space was a large bed. There were sparse furnishings, but I really hadn't had the time to look around. Before I knew it, I was gently pushed against the wall and her soft ample blue lips were once again pressing down onto mine. Our slow kisses slowly fueled our wildest desire as hands and body parts ravished each other in the pale light. _

_Tenderly breaking from our embrace, my blue rose turned gently pushing her back into me. With out-reached hands, she braced herself against the bedroom wall. Standing directly behind my soft flower, I carefully unzipped the back of her long white dress; placing hot wet kisses on the newly exposed sensitive skin. With each tender nibble, she moaned with delight and yearning. Her body quivered as my skilled fingers trailed the outside her svelte form. Intensifying the erotic moment even more was my lavender hands clashing boldly against her softer azure skin. _

_It wasn't until her gown hit the floor, that I started to get nervous. I've had my fair share of sexual encounters; meaningful and meaningless, but this particular woman was something else. Standing before me was an asari matron, more majestic and beautiful then I had ever seen. I nearly froze in place until I remembered my huntress pledge, 'Now or Never Vanessia.' So with a warriors poise and strength, I gently guided her to the bed. I immersed myself with every piece of her being and for hours our bodies were entangled one with the other._

_It was around zero three hundred and I was hovering above her again, when I suddenly felt her hand slide languidly between my thighs. I briefly glanced and switched positions in the large azure bed, trying to pull away from her wandering fingers. _

"_Do you not deserve pleasure too?" She softly pondered._

_Surprisingly caught off guard by such a passively aggressive lover, I shook my crest no. "I'm not the one who normally receives."_

_Her pleading eyes gazed hungrily back at me, "I want to please you." Her piercing eyes turned into almost a begging, wanting stare. "Vanessia, I want to please you."_

_Gingerly gripping the wrist of her hand, I flirtatiously retorted, "Hey, I don't even know your name yet?"_

_In an equally teasing manner, my evening's lover muttered, "All in good time Vanessia." The way she pronounced my name sounded as if she were seductively seducing my soul. Sucking in a sharp breathe, the blue eyed beauty slowly exhaled as she allowed my name to float off her tongue once again, "V-a-n-e-s-s-i-a". Never before had anyone spoken my name in such a manner. I was hoping it didn't show, but she was utterly making me weak in the knees. _

_Ripping my full attention back to her, she unexpectedly slid her long fingers inside of me. Drowning in her sensual being, I shuttered and my back arched causing me to release and an unexpected loud moan. As her fingers purposely moved in and out of me, I was unable to control myself as I moaned, "Oh Goddess! Oh Goddess!" My body trembled as she continued her titillating assault on my physical and mental being. Struggling to remain above my mystery woman, another surprising deep throated moan escaped from my up turned neck. _

_Extremely pleased with herself, my blue rose lover inquired with a touch of real concern, "Exactly how long has it been since you were pleasured yourself?" _

_I would have been looking directly at her, had I only been able to open my eyes, but I couldn't. I continued to gently rock against her. The ravishing libidinous expression on my face was my only answer. It was a sudden deeper thrust that sent my head shooting to the ceiling as my lover pleasantly chimed, "That long huh?" The more self control I seemed to be loosing, the brighter the smile on my lover's face. _

_Taunting me, as I had done to her earlier, the enchanted matron asked, "Does that feel nice?"_

_Panting heavily, I licked my lips and answered the protruding asari with a slight nod, yes. _

_Mimicking my previous actions accurately, her hand froze in mid stride and whispered, "I can't hear you?"_

_I knew I would not be granted the release I so desperately wanted until I revealed my inner desires to her. After all, that is precisely what I did to her only a few hours prior. And to this day, her loud provocative moans fill my more fond memories. _

_When my deep husky pants filled the air, I was unable to hold it together any longer, much less become verbally compliant. My privileged lover studied me as I trembled above her. But her subtle expressions indicated she knew that I had not been satisfied sexually in quite some time. Perhaps taking pity on me, her hand started moving again, and again my head shot upwards as I profoundly exhaled. "Dear Goddess Athame!" _

_That was all that my beautiful lover needed to see and hear, to know that the woman who had pleasured her was now enjoying her touch as immensely. She later told me that to her great surprise, seeing me, the more dominant one, literally melt on her fingertips made her immediately replenish her own sexual juices deep within. As she watched me writhe above her, something stirred within the younger matron as her heart pounded harder and harder with each stroke. _

_As every sense of my body became electrified, another proclamation for Goddess Athame echoed off the walls of the near silent suite. The unrehearsed exclamations sparked some deep emotion within the blue asari as well, as she gasped, "Oh Goddess indeed." _

_Watching the cerulean asari below thrusting against me, my mind drifted; realizing I was now feeling what I had made her feel over and over again for the last several hours. Never before had I enjoyed pleasuring someone else as much as I did with her. And it was now becoming equally enjoyable to receive, as she continued to have her way with me. Those pondering thoughts ripped through my lustful passion, as my ever spinning mind contemplated the idea for a moment. I remembered chastising myself, 'This is such an inappropriate time to make a connection. Neither of us have a tomorrow that we can give.' _

_My lover's light blue eyes studied me as she watched me thrash above her, and from her mischievous grin I could tell she was thoroughly enjoying herself as well. Her soft pupils fixated on every morsel of my face as all muscles in my body tightened. I could feel my orgasm building, and she knew it. The privileged asari was relentless and her vast sexual experience shined like a beacon in the night. _

_It wasn't long before her free indigo hand trickled its way up to my chest, and began playfully circling my erect nipples. With a smirk on her face, she carelessly flicked her index finger causing me to groan. I must have looked down at her with an extremely lustful expression of desire because she raised her eyes before nibbling on her bottom lip from the satisfaction her actions triggered. The naughty matron must have felt guilty for teasing me because I suddenly saw a look of empathy on her face, asking for silent permission to take my breast into her mouth. Feeling the warm wet lips upon my breast, combined with the aching sensation between my legs, took only minutes before I climaxed. _

_After several hard thrusts, I collapsed on top of the matron; my lavender body shuttering. Breathlessly, I apologized, "Sorry."_

_Affectionately petting the back of my quivering crest, my mystery woman stated, "Please do not be sorry for a single thing this evening." Feeling her eyes glaze over me, she added almost as breathless as I had spoken, "Tonight has been a sheer delight for me."_

_With shaking arms, I gradually lifted myself off of her and flopped over on my side. Too weak to really move, I looked over at her and responded to the sincere comment, "I too have had an amazing night." Exhausted, I lowered my head into the crook of my arm while my other hand lay gently upon her sublime stomach; caressing it absentmindedly. _

_Catching me off guard because of my profession, my blue rose chuckled, "One to tell the grandkids about, that is for sure." I must have made some sort of weird expression, because she quickly followed up her innocent statement with, "Well, when they are older of course."_

_Laughing with what little energy I had left, I chimed in the joke as well, "Of course, when they are older."_

_While we laughed, I remember studying her face. She seemed to be in deep thought. It made me wonder if she had ever contemplated having daughters before. Her eyes abruptly closed for a second, as if an unexpected thought fleeted across her mind. In flash, her eyes snapped open, and my blue rose looked very fondly upon me. I have always pondered if she thought, even if for a brief moment, about having daughters with me. _

"_What was that?" I lifted my weary head and asked, dying with curiosity._

_Gently guiding my head down to her chest, my mystery woman tenderly stroked my outer arm as she whispered, "Nothing my dear, nothing at all." Stealing a glance once more, she exhaled so deep that my crest rose and fell with her chest, "Just rest" she muttered. _


	20. Chapter 20 Zero Crack Thirty

**A/N:** Happy Birthday Aleris…. This chapter is for you and your undying commitment to the team. Love you.

**The Huntress**

**Chapter: Twenty **

**Zero Crack Thirty **

Loudly stomping her feet all the way across the lavish wooden floor, the junior huntress approached her seemingly slumbering captain. Aleris begrudgingly took her seat on the couch, displeased when her captain barely cracked an eye at the maiden's loud protest. "Not that I want to know, but where were we in the story?"

Hot on her heels, the other junior commando took the seat across from the fuming asari. Not saying a word, Vanessia's other eye opened and peeked at Shayla to see if she felt the same way.

The senior officer closed her eyes and released a heavy sigh pretending not to care. Inwardly she sulked, 'So much for the good parts.' When there was no air left, the squadleader abruptly sat up from her lying position. Sitting cross legged, Vanessia sucked in another breath. "Ok, so skipping the 'sex' part, I will start sometime around zero crack thirty that morning."

Not really wanting to interrupt the story teller, Shayla leaned in Aleris' direction. "What is zero crack thirty?"

In a hushed tone, the maiden returned, "It's that time of morning that is seriously too early to wake up."

A monotone, "Oh" filled the space as Huntress Vanessia waited patiently for the question to be answered.

In her normal commanding tone, that was both scary and informative, the experienced commando started, "Let me set the scene for you two as you have missed much."

_It was early that next morning and the room was nearly silent. The only sound was our synchronized breathing. What remained of the bed's coverings was thrown about the floor, and the overly large plush pillows that once accompanied the lavish comforter were nowhere to be seen. Deep asleep, at the foot of the bed rested our heads instead of our entangled feet; intertwined as any lovers could be. Lying on our sides, one crest was nestled snuggly between the breasts of the other while the other's cheek rested softly on top of the other's crest. This had been our position for the remaining few hours; both exhausted from actively pleasuring each other._

_Slumbering heavily, I barely heard a soft melodic tone. The sound that filtered about the bedroom was coming from my omni-tool on the night stand. The simple tone signaled that morning had arrived, and based on both our initial reactions from the alarm, it came far too soon for our liking. I was the first to move; begrudgingly peeling away from my blue rose. With foggy eyes, I stared dreamily into the mystery woman's lighter blue irises. _

"_That's my alarm." We both said in unison._

_We both laughed at our confession and my head fell back down on her soft cerulean chest. I was so taken by how soft and comfortable the bosom was against my cheek. Without a second thought, I reached down and wrapped one of blue rose's legs around my waist, and buried my face deep into her rising breasts. My free hand encircled the matron's stomach tightly. _

_The typically submissive matron smiled then gently petted my scalp. With a hint of amusement, she disclosed, "We both have the same tone for our alarms."_

_Lifting my head a bit, to hear better, I realized two alarms were going off in near unison. Releasing a short chortle, I replied, "I guess so." Resting my chin on the back of my hand, I revealed, "I really like the soft melody."_

_Agreeing heartedly, my azure lover informed me, "It puts me in a good mood."_

"_Yeah, I know what you mean. I have enough hardship in my life. I don't want the first thing I hear, to be anything but beautiful." Knowing the alarm wouldn't go off by itself, I finally detached myself from her and leaned towards the night stand. _

_Behind me, I could have sworn I heard my blue rose quietly declare, "I have been told I have a beautiful voice. Wouldn't that be nice to hear every morning?"_

_I was about to turn around and tease her about her whimsical confession, but when I saw the time, I about came out of my skin. "Holy creunads! That can't be right!" I took to my feet and started, "That wasn't my wake up alarm." Tapping the buttons on my omni-tool as fast as I could, I finally belted, "That is my alarm for a very important meeting I have in __**thirty minutes**__!"_

_Turning back to my evening's desire, I explained, "I must have slept through my 0630 alarm." Scanning the omni-tool once more to ensure its accuracy, I revealed, "Oh goddess, it's almost eight am. Shit…"_

_In perfect unison we both bellowed, "…I'm going to be late!" _

_Barely ending our exclamation, we both bolted around the room attempting to find our clothes as fast as possible. I don't remember exactly what was said, but it appeared she had somewhere to be as well. I heard how she'd love to shower, but she really had to go. _

_Half paying attention I explained, "Me too. I …" _

_Gathering up her lose clothes she stuttered, "I have very important business I must attend to." _

_Not even looking over my shoulder, I found my last boot and conveyed, "Yeah, yeah. I have a very important appointment as well." _

_As I headed out of the suite first to catch the elevator, I looked back and I could have sworn I saw a fleeting sadness across the young matron's face. I figured she was probably sad that she lost the opportunity to spend a few moments longer with each other; I know I was. _

"Why didn't you do something?" Shayla asked softly.

Swallowing hard and the somber memory that it was, Vanessia stated, "By then it was too late, the glass doors were already closing and I was hurling downward before I realized what I had seen."

Slumping back against the arm of the couch, the eldest pureblood explained, "So unceremoniously rushed, we didn't even have time to press our lips together in a romantic embrace before we both departed." The matron's head barely turned to the side to look at her junior officers before she concluded, "It wasn't until I was in the damn skycar that I realized that in our last minute panic, I had even forgotten to ask her name."

"Damn!" shot the second youngest commando.

With great empathy, Aleris added, "That sucks."

"Yeah tell me about it?" affirmed the senior officer.

Still in as much shock as her captain had been that morning, the zealous huntress questioned, "Wait, you still didn't get her name?"

Forcing out a painful memory, Vanessia confirmed, "No Aleris, I never got her name while we together that night."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %%%%

**A/N:** This story was originally written from a third person's point of view. It was a serious 'pain in the you-know-where' to convert it; even in a somewhat correct first person version.


	21. Chapter 21 Duty Calls

**The Huntress**

**Chapter: Twenty One **

**Duty Calls**

Mentally forcing the regretful memory to pass, Vanessia continued with her story if only to push it out of her mind.

_Like a whirlwind, I came bursting through the front door of my team's apartment not saying a word to anyone else in the room. I begun stripping my clothes and headed to the shower. _

_I remember turning the cold water on, and shouting back to the living room, "Is she here yet?"_

_Giggling reverbed off of the bathroom wall, apparently because their squad leader was not one who was usually late, much less for the reason they believed would have sent me straight to the shower. "I hope that three minute shower of yours comes in handy this morning!" One of my squad members chimed from the great room. Claire, who knew she could practically get away with murder, toyed with me; her squadleader. _

Interrupting the story, Aleris questioned, "Who is Claire?"

"Claire Vaysha was a maiden who was my point. Senari replaced her, and you replaced Senari."

A pleasant and simple, "Ok" answered the youngest squad member allowing the matron to continue.

_So Claire shouted back, "Is who here?" More giggling ensued before Claire was able to catch her breath again, "Oh you mean our new squad member coming today. I almost completely forgot." Her tone was saturated with playful defiance. _

_Removing my head from under the constant stream of water and poking my crest just outside the shower stall I responded in a stern, but easy going tone, "Laugh it up Claire bear! You know what I mean?"_

_I could tell my second youngest commando was about to say something else smart, but held her tongue when she heard the water suddenly turn off from inside the washroom. A minute later, I stepped outside the doorway; dripping wet, and started using a modest towel to dry off. Standing only a few feet in front of me, Claire Bear unexpectedly swallowed at me; clearly amazed by something. As she uncomfortably shifted her weight, she seemed both enamored and frightened watching me dry off; I thought she was just watching the water glistened over my finely toned muscles._

_Shaking herself from her thoughts, my point guard stammered, "Oh, you mean the new commando. No word yet. She too is late." With an awestruck expression on her face, Claire turned to leave. But as she left the bathing room, I heard her whisper under her breathe, "Lucky for you." _

_It wasn't until she was gone from site that I turned around and looked in the large bathroom mirror that I realized what had shaken my young maiden so greatly. I was shocked to see what was staring back at me. _

_My once pristine, lavender complexion was now covered in evident tall tale signs of the night I had encountered. Unbeknownst to me, I had scattered bruises about my body and a blanket of fresh scratches down my back. _

_A few moments later, shaking me from my own hypnotic stare from the reflection, Claire hollered into my private chamber, "I'll let you know when she arrives!"_

_Newly dried, I popped my head out of my sleeping chamber, "Good!" The sudden retort startled the point guard leaning against the door frame making her jump. I smiled and went back inside to get dressed. I called out to her in a big sister's mischievous tone, "It would be greatly appreciated it Claire Bear." _

_I was fastening the last of the clamps around my waist, when the doorbell rang. I could hear Delany, my youngest commando at the time, answer it. _

"_Hello and welcome. Please come inside" was all that I could manage to make out from my stateroom. Knowing I had to hurry, to ensure that my girl's took it easy on the new commando, I grabbed my boots and zipped up my huntress leathers. In the hall, just around the corner from the main living quarters, I stooped over and donned one of my boots as fast as I could, while I ease dropped on the other room. _

_I listened to a new voice speak with a bit of hoarseness, "I offer my deepest amends for being so irregularly tardy. I hope I have not kept your squad waiting long." _

_Puzzled, the youngest maiden quizzed, "What did you say?"_

_Laughing at Delany's country upbringing, Claire offered, "I believe in a very nice way, she said she was sorry for being late."_

_I began turning the corner only to see Claire sniffing the air where the new huntress once stood. She signaled to me, that she thought the new girl had also just showered, and made some obscene gesture about us showering together. I rolled my eyes and pointed for her to get with the other commando. My Claire Bear loved to joke around, but she also knew when and where that type of behavior was appropriate. Unfortunately for me, she seemed to always catch me when I was completely unable to react without causing a scene. _

_Inching a bit further around the corner and tugging on the clamps around my ankle, I slid my second boot on. From my view I could only see the back of the new commando. The tall matron was dressed in a floor length sapphire dress that clung to her slender figure in such a way that it left very little to the imagination. She walked, no not walked; she sauntered across the room to the main couch. I saw her fiddling with the high collar of her gown, she was clearly nervous. _

_Despite the previous evening, I couldn't keep from staring at her svelte figure. She was so beautifully sculptured, bringing me beyond words. Her alluring form made me wish I had consciously studied my lover last night, but it had been so dark and we weren't farther than arms reach all night. Secretly, a part of me desperately wanted to compare the two alluring figures; side by side. _

_The lingering commando stood before the huntress on the couch, who had greeted her at the door, "Hello. My name is Contessa T'Atheni." _

Slapping the cushion beside her, Aleris belted, "Thank Goddess!"

A flat and relentless sideways glance halted any further reaction from her present squad, before the asari captain repeated.

_The huntress said, "Hello, My name is Contessa T'Atheni."_

_Stammering, Claire asked, "You mean from the T'Atheni family of Illium?" _

"_The who from what?" A baffled Delany asked. _

_Tucking her hands under the back of her knees, and shifting back into the large soft leathered couch, my second youngest commando divulged, "T'Atheni is a very prestigious family from Gallo." _

_The youngest again looked to the other maiden cocking her head to the side, and asked, "Huh? Are you even speaking asari?"_

"_It means she's a real princess, Delany" spouted Claire Bear in flat tone, un-impressed by the matron's credentials. _

_Hoping to nip any problems in the bud right away, Contessa politely asked, "Please do not call me Princess. I earned my right to be an asari commando, just like everyone else. I insisted that I receive absolutely no special treatment." _

_Wanting to figure out this new huntress, I stood back and listened to her explanation while her commanding officer was out of earshot, or at least as she thought. She melodically paced the floor like she was giving a speech. I could image over the years, how many times she had already told this same story. For a moment, I actually felt sorry for her. _

_In a sweet comforting voice, she went on, pronouncing every syllable with care. "I explained to my teachers and family, that if I were to be treated unfairly, it would only end up hurting my squad members in the future."_

_Crossing her arms in disbelief, Claire sharply quizzed, "What does your family think about one of the 'elite' being an asari commando?"_

_Weakly, Contessa pulled at her collar again and uttered, "They are fine with it." _

_Delany being a farmer's daughter and not having much experience with socialites, at the least knew the matron's family couldn't have been very happy with the idea of their princess risking her life in the big bad universe. Remembering how her own family took the news, the young commando sarcastically spat, "Yeah, I bet they are."_

_Suddenly feeling the overbearing stare of the matron, like many times with own two older sisters, Delany dropped the subject. Trying to switch gears in anyway possible, the young maiden muttered the first thing that came to mind, "If you look that good in street clothes, then damn! I can't wait to see you a set of skin tight leathers."_

_I knew that was more than my cue to 'interject' and headed towards the trio. _

_Seeing me approach, Claire unexpectedly rose and stood behind the back of the couch. "I'm sorry what did you say your first name was again?" She asked again and much louder this time; apparently so I could hear. _

"_Contessa" answered the beautifully blue eyed asari. _

As if on cue, the present day Contessa strolled into the room. Wrapping her arms around her lover's neck, the matron lovingly placed a chaste kiss upon Vanessia's cheek. Dropping several shopping bags at the foot of the couch, she saw that the huntresses were in deep conversation. "What are you girls up to?" She inquired.

"Oh, just telling the story of how we met." The proud captain answered.

Haphazardly flopping down on the white leather couch next to her lover, the blue eyed asari pouted, "Oh Nessie, you know how much I hate that story."

Reaching around Contessa's waist, Vanessia explained, "Its ok baby. We are just now getting to the good part."

Unconvinced, the sniping commando asked, "And what part might that be my love?"

"The day you joined the squad, my precious."

Shooting a squinted glance at her other two commandos, who were bursting at the seams to hear the rest of the story, the beautiful huntress effortlessly motioned her hand as she settled into the couch. "Very well, go on if you must."

Aleris and Shayla were quick to recite, "She must, she must."

Lightly massaging her temple, the veteran asari asked, "Now where was I?"

Shayla was the first to snap, "You were taking your sweet time greeting Contessa."

A sideways frown met the young maiden, as the crass statement caught the huntress off guard; that was something the captain was used to hearing from her youngest teammember, not from this commando. When the senior officer was sure everyone was ready again, she continued to reveal their meeting.

_Claire had just asked her name for the second time before I entered the room. From behind the new matron, I amusingly asked as I approached, "So your name is Contessa?" She swiftly turned around and I stopped in mid step, suddenly acutely aware who was standing in front of me. I was completely dumbfounded. Unable to speak or move, I could only watch in surprise as I listened to the blue beauty before me. _

"_Vanessia?! By the goddess, it's you."_

"I didn't sound like that" protested the asari matron.

"Hey look this is my story. I get to tell it my way."

Contessa shot a stern look in the direction of her lover. Ignoring the nonverbal threat, Vanessia continued,

_Barely able to move any further, I_ _was completely stunned. I couldn't believe my eyes. Knowing her captain well, Claire had a feeling something was going on that she wasn't privy too and questioned, "Do you two know each other?" _

_In unison, we responded; me saying "No!" while Contessa answered "Yes!"_

_By now, my two younger commandos knew something was up when I blushed pretty bad, before slowly turning away. Trying to conceal my excitement and embarrassment, I silently drifted across the room. _

_Slicing through the air like a knife, my Claire Bear asked with a twinge of confusion, "Vanessia, exactly where were you last night?" _


	22. Chapter 22 Busted

**The Huntress **

**Chapter: Twenty Two**

**Busted**

_Before I really got a chance to respond, the blue beauty across the room answered, "With me"._

With great jubilation, Aleris shot off the couch and began shouting, "Hot damn, shit Omega! I knew it had to be Contessa! I just knew it!"

Huntress Contessa looked surprisingly at her other junior officer, who barely stirred at the astonishing news. "What about you Shayla? Were you not tricked?"

The maiden barely shrugged her shoulders before she disclosed her true feelings on the matter. "Oh, I was going to throw a bucket of ice in her bed tonight if it hadn't been you." Now blushing a bit of her own, the crafty vanguard admitted, "I'm sorry, but in my mind, you are the only true love for Vanessia." Shifting her sea green eyes towards her captain, the young huntress expanded, "Even if she won't admit it."

By now the squad leader's eyes had closed to a near slit as she mimicked the junior officer's threatening comment, "A bucket of ice huh?"

Playfully smacking her lover on the arm, Contessa demanded, "You will conduct no such revenge on your girls. You are the one who baited them into believing that your mystery 'blue beauty' was someone else."

"Yeah, but the expression on their faces was priceless."

Looking back to her junior commandos, the captain's lover explained, "Now you know why I don't like this story."

In agreement, the young maidens nodded in unison at understanding why the sultry asari did not like the tale.

Ignoring rank and position, Aleris was again the first to snap, "Vanessia that was just plain mean. Why did you trick us like that?"

Smug as ever, the senior officer retorted, "Like I said, the look on your faces was priceless."

"So would have been your face at three in the morning once a bucket of ice water hit you." Shayla spouted quite confidently.

The veteran commando was about to threaten the young huntress when her lover immediately stopped any such retaliation. Poking her long nimble finger into her captain's side, the sophisticated matron reiterated, "Not a single thing."

Grabbing the protruding finger, Vanessia giggled as she caved, "Ok. Ok. I won't do anything to them." Trying to redirect everyone's attention, the experienced huntress asked, "Who wants to hear about Contessa's first few weeks as a commando, and how she attempted to take on a whole gang of pirates by herself?"


	23. Chapter 23 The Dock Worker

**The Huntress**

**Chapter: Twenty Three **

**The Dock Worker**

Later that week, I was summoned to a commando training retreat.

"Retreat my blue ass" sputtered the second in command as her sapphire eyes sparkled defiantly.

Hoping to side step any oncoming arguments, Vanessia clarified, "Ok so the entire thing is not completely legitimately commando training."

"What does that mean?" asked the typically shyer maiden.

Nervously scratching the temple of her forehead, the senior commando explained, "Well…" another cautious glance shot in the direction of her lover before she went on. "Well, as you know, being an asari squadleader can be quite difficult at times. So the Asari Republics…"

The captain was again cut short by her lover's protest, "Asari Republics? More like a bunch of horny old matrons if you ask me."

"What do you mean?" questioned the youngest maiden.

Contessa was happy to be the first to sit straight up and make her opinion known, "Well by 'Commando Retreat', the Asari Republics have turned a bit of an eye during this so called training session. It is more like a retreat for a bunch of young asari dancers shaking their ass in your face training."

For a moment, Aleris chortled at the image, until she realized how much her favorite sniper despised the idea of the event. Smothering her laughter under her hands, the young recruit glanced haphazardly between her captain and Shayla. The two younger maidens could immediately tell by the normally docile huntress' tone, not to interfere with this conversation; verbal or not.

"Of course dear, even I will admit, it has never been the most educational training a commando can receive…" by now the alluring asari was turning away from her lover with folder arms. "…but it has become a necessity for those captains who don't have a beautiful Contessa on their squad."

Still slightly annoyed, the huntress begrudgingly fought back the affections from her lover who was now trying to console her. "Tessia…you know the whole world would be a better place if every squad had a commando like you in it." Attempting to not patronize her lover, the squadleader spoke as she tenderly petted her lover's arm, "Anyway, I was ordered to attend that decade's Commando Retreat." Silently asking for forgiveness, Vanessia further relayed,

_Besides, the Retreat was a welcomed distraction, because I felt like I was falling for my newest commando and at the time, I didn't think that was a very good thing. I was hoping that week would put a little distance between us and prevent me from showing favoritism. So it gave me the excuse I needed to start pulling away._

_I'm trying not to bore you with too many of the details, so let me just flash forward a bit. Contessa got a little jealous while I was gone and tried to seek pleasure with another asari while I was gone._

Shifting her attention towards the blue beauty, the senior officer questioned with a twinge of mischievousness, "What was her name again?" Tapping her bottom lip, Vanessia quipped, "Was it Helgos?"

A flat and simplistic name from the lovely blue rose corrected the squad leader. "Hel'ta. Hel'ta Vargo."

"Yes, that is right." Stated the veteran huntress as she looked back towards her junior commandos.

As the team's captain began her story again, her lover glared at her, but the privy asari made no indication to change the story Vanessia was telling.

_From how I recall it, this 'other' matron undressed Contessa a lot like I had done that night when we had first met; you know, kissing her neck from behind. However, Hel'ta's kisses weren't as soft or well placed as she remembered liking, but she pretended they were anyway. The longer the session went, the more she allowed her mind to drift to the thoughts of me making love to her. When my blue rose was completely undressed and lying below the other woman, Contessa finally allowed reality to take over, and forced her way off the bed. _

"_I'm sorry, but I can't do this. I just can't. I am so sorry." _

_Luckily, the other matron recognized 'that' look. "You're in love with someone else aren't you?" asked Hel'ta. Not allowing the flustered Contessa to answer her question, the newly rejected lover sat up and she wrung out her dark lavender hands. "Let me guess, she doesn't even know it does she?" _

_At first, my blue beauty was about to deny her feelings, but sitting on the edge of the modest sized bed, she could only bury her face in her hands. _

_After a few minutes, this poor sap got up, got dressed, and proposed a questioned that still to this day, baffles the two of us. Hel'ta asked Contessa to stay and at least have tea with her. _

_When Contessa asked why, the denied lover replied, "Because you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and I would never be able to score with a woman like you. Besides, it sounds like you could really use a shoulder to lean on right now."_

_So the two of them drank tea and chatted for countless hours that night. They talked about everything; their upbringing, schooling, and life in general. They had even discussed their occupations, but Contessa had been able to delicately glide over actually revealing what she did for a living. _

"Why is that?" curiously questioned, Huntress Shayla.

Taking her turn to stifle an amused chuckle, Vanessia explained, "Not many people feel comfortable around someone who says they can snipe your head off 150 meters away."

"Gotcha" retorted the young commando, completely understanding her captain's meaning.

_So by the time morning came, Contessa had asked her new friend, Hel'ta Vargo, "How can I possibly repay you for your kindness?"_

_Absentmindedly, the woman retorted, "Know any commandos?" Looking at Contessa, who was deeply confused by the casual statement, the other matron asari explained, "I work at the shipping docks and I'm being constantly harassed by these thugs. They are just small time bandits, but I can't seem to get rid of them." Mindlessly stirring her tea, the dark skinned asari forced out a gust of air; feeling completely helpless. _

_Without wasting a second more, my newest sniper asked, "What shipping docks do you work on?"_

…

Huntress Vanessia had returned from her 'training' session two days early, and was getting a status update from her temporary second in command commando; Claire. Leaning on the back of the large, brown leather couch, the point guard retold, "Contessa bolted out of the room just a few moments ago after reading some private message. I thought it was from you."

Equally surprised, the senior officer mentioned, "I didn't send any message."

Crossed armed and furrowing her brow with a great deal of suspicion in her eyes, the point guard questioned, "Why_ are_ you back so early?"

Tossing the last of her bags on the foot of her bed, Vanessia expressed, "You know why. The same reason I left a day late." The senior officer flopped down on her bed, covering her eyes as she went on to explain, "The first 2 days are sex filled, followed by a day of real commando business, and ends with two more days of an outright orgy celebration."

Delany who was sitting on the other end of her captain's bed blurted with great anticipation, "I can't wait to be a squad leader!"

Peeking out from under her folded hands, Vanessia rolled her eyes at the proclamation. A moment later, the weary commando rolled over on to her side, flat against the mattress. Uncovering her shielded eyes, the senior huntress asked, "What did the message say?"

"What message?" asked the enthused commando, happy to have her squad leader back home.

"The message you said Contessa received?"

As plainly as she was reporting bad weather, the second oldest maiden muttered as if she didn't opinion on the matter at all, "I don't know."

Propping herself up on her elbows, the experienced huntress quipped, "I thought the infamous Claire Bear could hack any system?" Humorously rolling over to her back again, Vanessia jabbed, "Delany my dear, I must have been mistaken about her?"

Sitting down the cup of tea she had been drinking, the young asari beamed with pride. "You betcha sweet blue ass I can hack anything that has power!"

Innocently interjecting, the youngest huntress conveyed, "Um, Claire. Vanessia isn't blue."

Shooting a glance of death, like any typical big sister would do, Claire defended, "I know that."

Holding her hands up in a surrendering fashion, the youngest recruit mentioned, "I was just making sure."

Preventing the two younger huntresses to continue any further, Vanessia used her boot to point towards the door of her stateroom. "Hey Claire Bear, don't you have a message to crack for me?"

An all too proud, "Yes Ma'am!" uttered off the maiden's lips before she disappeared out of sight.

…

Moments after the newest member of asari commando unit K zero six five read the urgent message marked 'private', she entered the shipping docks as instructed. Lathered in her new leathers, the silver spooned matron swayed her way towards a group of thugs that had been harassing her friend who worked the D7 docks.

Mocking the very curvaceous, and dainty looking female, the defiant thugs shouted several insults at the lonely huntress. "You aren't no asari commando! Look at how you move!"

Instantly freezing in her tracks, the blue beauty remembered how she did sway a bit too much at times.

Ripping her back into the present was another annoying voice ringing out from within the narrow docks, "Did you get that tight ass outfit from your mommies closet, sweetie?"

As Contessa's blood began to boil, the solitary huntress quickly found herself badly outnumbered by the bothersome men. Directly in front of her, were three heavily armed turians, with a very large krogan standing before them; clearly the criminal in charge. At his side, was a foul looking vorcha who was smacking an assault rifle between his hands. Sneaking about on either side of the warehouse, were two more of the foul looking creatures trying to outflank the separated commando. Swallowing hard, the sniper carrying asari counted seven men total.

Before real panic swept her, the outnumbered huntress, heard a very familiar voice behind her.

"How about me?!" belted the voice, saturated with defiance.

Abruptly turning around, Contessa watched as Vanessia and her fellow squad mates, with weapons in hand, leisurely strolled deep within the warehouse. Again barking at the thugs like a bunch of mad varren, the senior huntress spat, "_Do I_ look like a real commando?!"

Taking her eyes off the belligerent intruders for a moment, Vanessia shot her previous lover a sideways glance that was both condoning, yet pleased that she was not harmed.

Huntress Contessa was quick to answer the annoyed and concerned matron's look. "I thought I could just talk them out of it."

Allowing her favorite assault rifle to stand straight up in the grasp of her hand, the commando retorted only loud enough for the blue rose to hear. "Of course you did sweetie."

The loud mouth thugs immediately took in the three very different postures of the entering women. They were quick to notice the youngest asari bouncing her heavy pistol eagerly in her hands; itching to joyfully release a multiple thermo clips into their heads. Delany was eagerly shadowing Claire's every move with her shotgun, as she strolled adjacent to her teammate. Even Huntress Vanessia lovingly stroked the top of her assault rifle, like a pet varren, ready to fire upon the suddenly disadvantaged thugs.

Passing her officially more senior officer, Claire nodded towards Contessa, signaling her to take cover by the dock worker, who was already hiding behind several large wooden crates. The point guard knew that was a good place to avoid the wild shit storm of ammo that was about to make its way across the warehouse.

It did not take very long for the two to do as Vanessia's point guard had instructed before Hel'ta Vargo studied the lovely blue asari before her. She watched as her sparkling eyes gazed out upon the squad moving closer to the thugs, and especially the way she looked at the huntress in charge. Pushing aside the immediate danger that was currently presenting itself, the eager dock worked asked, "That's her isn't it?"

Taken by the sudden statement, Contessa glared back at her new friend, and questioned with a great deal denial, "What makes you say that?"

Watching as the commando squad began to confront the pestilent beings, Hel'ta responded, "Look at her! She's beautiful, powerful, and terrifying with that rifle in her hand." The dark skinned asari began to sound like a spokes person for the huntress. "I mean, wow!" Glancing back at Contessa, the stunned dock worker continued, "She's fearless. Who wouldn't fall in love with a commando leader like that?"

The soft blue asari at Hel'ta Vargo's side was about to retort, but nothing came out. Her sparkling eyes slowly gazed back out towards her new commanding officer. In an instant, Contessa wished she could have melded with the dock worker, so that in a single thought, the blue beauty could expand on that sensational evening she had spent with the asari captain only a few weeks prior.


	24. Chapter 24 Oktane

A/N: Oktane was intentionally spelt different to create a more sci-fi feel.

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**The Huntress **

**Chapter Twenty Four **

**Oktane Burns Hot**

As the words floated across the squad leaders tongue, the time enjoyably slipped away. Adventure after adventure filled the elegantly serene room that sat four beautiful, yet dangerous commandos. The youngest, flopped her elbows down against the room's largest table with a great deal of gusto. Ensuring she did not disturb the delicate lavender glassware that stunningly decorated the dining table, the junior huntress stared glossy eyed at her superior huntress. When all eyes were drawn on her, the maiden spoke. "Tell us about that fight you had in the club here on Illium".

Addressing the fervent asari who was sitting on her left, Vanessia's brow furrowed a bit as she tilted her head in suspicion. "Wait a second…" Twisting her lean body towards the ocean blue asari, the veteran cleared her throat. "Aleris, how do you know about _that_ story?"

Quickly looking the other direction, the young adept revealed, "Oh, I may have overheard you tell it once a while back."

"Ease dropping huh?" The older pureblood quipped.

"Well, a girl needs every advantage possible." Trying to schmooze the leader, the young lieutenant added, "I was just learning from the best."

Privy to what was going on; both Vanessia and Contessa chuckled at the maiden's innocence. Over the months the two senior officers learned that their youngest huntress was eager to learn at any possible opportunity. On more than one occasion, they had to rescue the inexperienced commando from near catastrophe because she had gone barking up the wrong tree or in her case an enemy, looking for answers.

Impatient, Aleris again begged, "So are you going to tell the club fight story or not?"

While the other squad members prepared themselves for dinner, the senior huntress began her story.

_I believe it was a few nights after Contessa's run in with the shipping dock thugs. _A small grin, of a now fond memory, slipped over the matrons faces as the captain continued. _We had all gone out dancing. If my recollection serves me correctly, I believe the name of the club was Oktane._

Interjecting, the second youngest commando laughed, "Wait, _you_ were dancing?" Smacking her hand heartedly down on the glass table, Shayla gasped, "That I'd like to see."

Allowing only her pupils to glare at the small town maiden, the slightly perturbed mentor cleared her throat and persisted. Speaking over the seemingly wild idea of her dancing, Vanessia began,

_One night the squad went to Club Oktane. It had been a happening place on Illium for some time."_

Glancing over to her lover, the pureblood confirmed, "I think it closed down a couple of years ago because of some red sand business." Vaguely remembering reading something about it, the eldest adept of the group nodded in agreement. "You know how the volus can not resist the temptation to make just a little bit more money, my dearest." Shifting her weight back to address the entire table again, the veteran continued.

_Contessa was dancing alone because I wouldn't dance; at least not with her. At the time, I was still trying to suppress any feelings I was having for her. Well, it wasn't until I came back to the table with another round of drinks that Delany asked. "So who is our newest commando dancing with?"_

_I almost spilt our drinks spinning my head around so quickly. Wrenching my neck, I scoured the multi-level dance floors, searching for my blue rose dancing. When I spotted her, she was with some damn human; a human male. Can you believe that? As the girls took the round of Azamis from me, I couldn't tear my eyes away from this human getting a little too close to Contessa for my liking. After a few, I sat back down and tried to push the image from my head. 'She's not my bondmate. She can do whatever she wants.'_

_But then it happened again. _

"What happened?" Shayla asked, looking between her two senior officers almost panic stricken. The green eyed vanguard barely got the large gulp of beverage down before asking.

Rocking forward placing more weight on her elbows as she leaned forward, Vanessia explained, "I'll tell you what happened young huntress of mine." _That scum bag had his hands all over her. Through gritted teeth I told Claire and Delany that if he put his hands on her ass one more time, I was gonna…"_

_Nearly gagging before she had barely swallowed her exotic cocktail, Claire choked, "You're going to do what exactly?"_

_Fuming, I growled under my breath trying to maintain my professional demeanor. But it wasn't long before I finished my Azami and slammed my glass down. Claire quickly motioned to the closest waitress for another round. When she spun back around, she half heartedly looked at me before looking back at Contessa. "Why do you care who she dances with?" _

_Practically seething, I said, "If it were another asari, I don't think I would mind, but those damn human males. They only want one thing."_

_Slightly intoxicated, Delany piped up, slamming her third wheat ale hard to the surface, "Guns?" _

_Smacking the youngest commando so hard she flinched, Claire barked, "Not guns stupid."_

_Taking a moment to evaluate the situation, the quickly sobering asari retorted, "Hell fire, that's all asari want too!" Clearly not successful at stifling her laughter, my youngest suddenly realized that was not the point when I gave her the death glare. _

_Adding salt to the wound, Claire Bear decided to offer her two credits, "The point is that Huntress Vanessia is becoming increasingly jealous that the girl she likes is dancing with someone other than herself." Throwing her arms up in surrender at my visible display of anger, the trusted asari added, "…and the rest of the squad is unsure of what to do about it."_

_Swallowing a lump in my throat, the size of Omega, I decided to continue to protect my blue rose; from a far. Then just as perceived, the man grabbed Contessa's luscious ass once more and in a second flat, I leapt from my seat and was headed to the dance floor. Once in the mix of patrons, I jerked the man's hands off sending his arms sailing into the air. _

_Clearly dumbfounded, the human irked, "What the fuck?!" _

_In retaliation, I barked, "She isn't dancing with you anymore." _

_Then the dumb ass attempted to reach for her ass again. Slurring his words he said, "Well, I think that is for her to decide."_

_By then, I could feel the presence of Claire and Delany behind me. Outraged I instantly cut off his physical access to my blue rose by stepping in between them. Barely below a roar, I declared, "I said, she is done dancing with you now."_

_Balling up his fist, the man shouted at me. "Don't make me hurt you little girl."_

_Livid at this point, I hissed, "Little girl?!" _

_By now the crowd on the dance floor or at least all of the asari and most of the turians had already backed away. Delany automatically went to guard the largest entrance onto the dance floor and Claire moved closer to the huntress we were all protecting. Attempting to keep me calm I felt Contessa's hand gently reached for my shoulder. Knowing what kind of hurt I could put on that scum bag, my blue beauty uttered, "It's alright Vanessia. He was just leaving." _

_Not thinking this guy would give up that easy, I warned, "Touch her one more time, and I will give you a permanent limp that modern medicine can't fix." _

_As the music played on and a few patrons continued dancing on the outer rim of the dance floor, the human showed no sign of respect to an asari commando unit or a brain cell as he stood deafly before me. "Oh really?" spat the man in complete defiance. _

_I snapped back in an even more condescending tone, "Yes really."_

_I thought the guy was a coward when he left so quickly without saying anything else. But when I began to usher my team off the dance floor believing the affair to be over, he returned with two more human males; one slightly larger than himself. From behind he actually had the nerve to tap me on the shoulder. "You know, I don't understand how you asari think you are so much better than everyone else." Gawking at me and Tessa up and down, like we were some sort of oddity, he exclaimed "…and what you do together, that's just plain unnatural." _

_The human's word 'unnatural' instantly flipped a switch in me. My face began to boil a deep angry purple. I could feel my pulse throbbing at my temple. My fist clinched and my biotic power began to swell within threatening to break loose at any second. _

The only vanguard of the group had stopped eating in near stride as she hung on my every word; fearing something bad was about to happen. Her leafy greens had already fallen off her fork long ago as it dangled in the air motionless. Aleris had already engrossed herself in the story and had stopped eating a quarter of the way into the tale. By now, her chin was buried in the nook of clasped hands staring dreamy eyed at her captain. The newest commando resembled a youngling listening to the greatest story every told.

The subject of the story sat across from her team and gently tossed her small pod vegetables as she felt a twinge of embarrassment over the whole ordeal. While deep inside the senior matron thought, "Well if Vanessia had just kissed me right away, nothing bad would have happened at Oktane that night."

_Ignorant of the pain he was about to suffer, the scum bag continued, "I mean, look at you two." Then his attention turned on me. "Are you supposed to be the butch one?" _

Huntress Shayla's fork dropped absentmindedly out of her hand clinking against her plate.

_I let go of Contessa and turned to face the human. The crowd around us seemed to come to a stand still at the confrontation. Most knew or at least most of the club's staff knew we were commandos. To make matters better or worse depending on how you looked at it, my two other huntresses, were ready to offer assistance if needed. _

_Claire immediately tried to escort Contessa off the dance floor completely and out of the way, when my privy asari protested, "Wait, what about Nessie? You can't just leave her." Struggling to free herself from Claire's grasp, she beseeched, "They out number her three to one."_

_The senior maiden glanced back over her shoulder at me and then the men for a moment and frowned, "You're right. It isn't fair. It will not be an even match." Placing herself in front of the new sniper, the point guard chuckled, "They should have brought more men."_

_As the men continued to spout racist insults at me, I felt more protective of Contessa than of my pride; even though I can be a very prideful pureblood. Realizing that the human who started this wasn't getting the rise out of me he wanted, he pushed his way through the crowd and reached for Contessa again. And as promised, I diligently broke his arm before he made contact. Grabbing his forearm, he started screaming in pain like a new born turian. _

_One of his friends charged me, and I spun around; landing a hard elbow to the side of his face sending him crashing unconscious to the floor. Angry at witnessing his pals fall so quickly, the largest man pulled out a long blade and approached me. Despite the crowd's sudden sucking in of air with anticipation, I concentrated solely on my oncoming attacker. _

_Contessa was so scared she froze in place before she blurting, "Vanessia!" _

"I do not blurt anything" demanded the blue beauty as she pinched a well place nerve that sent a trifling wave of pain up my arm.

With a smirk across her face, the commando captain apologized, "Sorry dear, it's just for dramatics."

Shrugging her shoulders and delicately shifting her lithe weight into the chair, the alluring asari smiled knowing the small amount of pain got her point across.

Sick of the adoring exchange of smiles between her senior officers, Shayla questioned as excited anticipation filled her. "So what happened then?"

"Well needless to say, it was a bad night for that guy who thought he could put his hands on my blue rose."

The asari matron gently stroked her lover's arm as an un-spoken commitment that she would never allow such a thing to happen again.

Releasing a deep breath which looked like she had been holding in for some time, the newest commando, declared with a great deal of conviction. "Shoot, I feel sorry for any fool who tries putting their hands all over Contessa."

After the closely knit commando unit shared a snicker, their fearless leader revealed the climax of her story.

_Then this other idiot came at me with a pretty big blade, however the trained killer inside me who was already in hunter mode, did not falter. Focusing solely on my target, I sneered at the man, "Do you want to put down that knife or do you want me to drive that knife through your spleen?" The crowd sucked in at the horrific mental image. _

_Insulted, the mammoth of a man yelled, "You fucking bitch. I'm gonna cut you up like a piece of dead varren meat."_

_I of course laughed, "Good thing it is dead…" Adding insult to injury I shotback, "…I doubt you'd know what to do with one that was alive." _

"_I faked going to my left, which made the ogre of a man move to his right. I then quickly spun around to my right, grabbing the knife and using his own centrifugal force, drove the knife deep into the man's left side. The fight was really over before it had begun." _

_Later Tessa told me that Claire had snickered and announced, "See, I told you they didn't stand a chance."_

_It was at that time I knew that the human/asari commando fight would cause more tension in the club; with equal members of both species in the music pounding establishment I decided it was time. I placed my hand on Claire's shoulder and professed, "I believe it is time, we take our leave."_

"_No problems there!" The obedient huntress replied as she looked knowingly at Contessa who was still unsure of what had just happened. "Time to go!"_

_Dragging their newest sniper closely behind them, Claire and Delany made their way to a side exit. I was right behind them bringing up the rear. However before leaving, I remember shooting an apologetic look towards the shift manager of the club; working the bar. The turian nodded back that he understood the situation, but he seemed a bit disappointed at me. After all the years I had gone there, he knew for a fact that I could have caused a lot more damage to the three men. The manager who had been drying the same glass since I had entered the dance floor was sadden it was over too quickly for his taste. He was after all, a former warrior himself who always enjoyed a good fight. _

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**Author's Notes 2: **This will be the last chapter, at least for a while, of the commando's past. It was too hard to keep switching POV's from present to past and back again. Plus I want to give my editor a break, lol. Thanks.


	25. Chapter 25 Dig In

**The Huntress**

**Chapter Twenty Five**

**Dig In**

Waiting for the asari waitress to place her drink on the table, the squad's youngest commando released a heavy sigh as she twisted around in her seat to take in the view behind her. Like a little girl dreaming of something greater, the young maiden wistfully asked, "How come we never get to compete in the arena?"

Giving the young commando a sideways glance as she poured a translucent sauce over her food, her senior officer, who over the last year had come to love and adore the new boisterous huntress as if she were her own blood sister, smirked, "Aleris, dear. Why do you ask questions to answers you already know?"

Contessa being the second eldest matron studied the captain, as the youngest recruit squirmed in her seat under Vanessia's stare. It had become blatantly clear: the senior commando was a deadly killer, however, she would do just about anything for her; and the whole team for that fact. However, as she watched the pureblood request a second glass of asari wine, Contessa couldn't help but think perhaps the recently jittery maiden was getting to her.

Unbeknownst to the others, Vanessia secretly wished that just once in a while, her team of lethal huntresses would be allowed to strut their stuff. The team had really grown a great deal as a cohesive unit over the last year. Verbal orders had been quickly replaced by hand signals and gut instincts. Huntresses didn't go running off on their own anymore, well mostly not anymore. In fact, the trained professionals had worked so well together, that Vanessia often wondered if the foursome had not begun to share some sort of mental telepathy on the battlefield; although, Contessa assured her it was because they had been working so intricately.

The veteran leader knew her huntresses had been working so darn good lately that they had gained the attention of the Matriarchy. The team had already tested well within the 'Elite Commando' scoring system and over the last few weeks had begun receiving special treatment. Even for an asari unit some of the unsolicited benefits seemed a bit excessive: luxurious quarters, countless credits for weapons, clothes and entertainment. There were also very privileged outings, much like the one tonight.

This particular evening was an extravagant dinner the squad was enjoying during this unscheduled week off. The meal was a special treat given to them by the Asari Republics on their downtime for successfully conducting business on their behalf. It would typically take weeks just to be added to the wait list, but with the Matriarchy's kind of pull, the huntresses only had to wait a few hours.

The fine restaurant just happened to be located across the plaza from the city's largest combat center. The Pink Mollusk was a lavish establishment, requiring the squad to wear their finest civilian attire. Oh how the refined matron loved seeing the girls dressed like sophisticated women her mother would be proud to address. Not to mention it was the privy commando's favorite place to eat. Although no matter how hard Contessa tried, her lover still managed to get out of wearing the traditional floor length dress by claiming, 'You never know when danger will strike.'

Tilting her head to the side to gaze upon her lover's firm limbs, the silver-spooned asari bit her bottom lip as her imagination ran wild of what lay beneath Vanessia's form fitting, yet elegant white suit. It was the asari's own rendition of a human tuxedo. Rather than the stark contrast of black and white, the cream colored asari suit was of fine soft flowing fabric that was spun from the rarest tussah spiders on Thessia. These highly prized spindle makers are hand raised by an Ardat Yakshi monastery in the Southern Yakishute Mountains. Inside the sacred walls, the asari republics knew the sacred spiders would be well cared for and safe; very safe.

The exquisite outfit closely resembled the look and feel of Earth's silk, however because of this particularly rare species, the silk they produced was strong as steel. It was among the many reasons why others did not prey on the asari even when they were wearing long beautiful dresses. One could never tell what the dress was made of and the attacker would have no better chance of fighting a fully armored krogan than a breathtaking asari. Captain Vanessia, for no apparent reason, would occasionally chuckle to herself, taking comfort in the pleasure of this knowledge. Sometimes she wished someone would be attacked for that very reason, just to see the shock on their face as they fought.

The other three huntresses were also dressed to kill. Aleris wore a traditional floor length gown; sporting very untraditional asari colors. The snug fit dress was dark purple with a single broad black stripe down the middle. The maiden's gloves also repeated this unusual 'Goth' pattern, as the zealous maiden put it. The conversation between Aleris and Contessa over what to wear didn't last very long. Vanessia remembered overhearing, "Well if I am wearing a dress, then I am wearing it in the colors I like."

To her amazement, the asari leader was shocked to see how stunning the young maiden actually looked in her formal wear. The way it clung to every curvature on her slender than most body left the captain speechless nearly all the way to the Pink Mollusk. Unbeknownst to each other, they both enjoyed the unexpected attention the dress was getting, as both asari secretly wished a fight would break out. At least that would put an end to their temporary dry spell.

Also secretly wishing for some action was the second youngest maiden. Shayla Damali was usually quiet and reserved but had left her small town for a reason. The cobalt asari sought after a more exciting lifestyle than becoming a farmer in that little village. The vanguard displayed her garment just as proudly and thrived in the attention it brought. Being one of five daughters, and somewhere in the middle, the sudden attention was a little overwhelming, but welcomed. The green eyed beauty had to think back to when she had last been singled out from her sisters and made to feel special; much less beautiful.

The disciple toting huntress however traded her weapon that night for a sleek, form fitting, traditional Thessian gown. The dark blue fabric nearly touched the ground as she walked. Almost giving the impression the young maiden was floating across the air. Although the dress was not as tight as her counterparts, it was still very sensual. Especially since the faintly lighter blue strip that ran down the front unpredictably accented her slightly larger than most bosom. The privy asari's suggestion of wearing the white gloves instead of matching ones also paid off tremendously. The whole outfit popped therefore collecting even more unexpected glances and whispers by on lookers. Walking past a large reflective wall, the maiden peered over and inwardly enjoyed how the dress made her look truly riveting. In fact, the shotgun warrior did an unexpected twirl just to admire the way she looked.

Contessa's soft knuckles gently tapped the table in front of Aleris, tenderly reminding the young huntress to restore her decorum she had momentarily abandoned too absentmindedly. As the youngest commando turned around and resumed her meal, Shayla, realizing she had missed an excellent opportunity to kick her friend under the table if for no other reason than 'just because', sighed and began twiddling her fork. Vanessia recognizing the smirk of the missed sinful pleasure on her young commando's face glanced toward the unaware target. A short chuckle escaped her lips as she suddenly wished she had thought of such a mischievous idea.

Becoming lost in her own thoughts as her fellow dinner guest began their meals, the asari captain reminisced about her past commando units. Periodically glancing up from her plate, the pureblood peeked in the direction of each teammate. Every day of every mission, the mentor felt that out of all the commandos she had either worked under or with; this particular group was a true blessing to work with. It was her own piece of heaven.

On several occasions, the senior officer had to remind herself that these asari were in fact her huntresses following orders and not her sisters or lovers that she had known her whole life. Often plaguing her thoughts were images of what would ever happen if one of them would ever get hurt or seriously injured. The matron would have to forcefully thrust the scenarios out of her head in order to function normally. It was only during this time, that the huntress could imagine what blood rage must have felt like for the krogan. Subconsciously, the lavender asari often practiced her speech to the asari council about why she wiped out an entire village for hurting one of her precious commandos.

Twiddling the long slender neck of the spoon in her fingers, Aleris toyed with her pea pods. The large shells held four tasty peas each. Segregating them by the darkest and lightest color of green on her plate, the youngest maiden again sighed heavily. It had been weeks since the team had acted as the diplomatic arm of the Asari Republics and the restless maiden was beginning to get worse at being patient.

Knowing there was a growing uneasiness within the squad; Contessa folded her napkin in her lap for the third time before continuing to eat. Pausing before taking another bite of her green and purple leafy dish, the azure colored asari glanced in her lover's direction, hoping she was taking note of the maiden's increasing desire to kill something.

Carefully carving a large piece of meat, not customary to the asari, Vanessia nodded as she enjoyed every morsel of the delicious varren steak. The seasoned huntress decided then to take action about getting the details of their next assignment, but as she placed another large piece of juicy meat in her mouth to devour, the huntress mentally disclosed, _just not right now_. Although the gluttonous woman could not speak clearly with the amount of food in her mouth, she still managed to spark a conversation at the table.

"Shayla" The veteran paused allowing herself a few more decent chews, "How is that fluken?" Forcing down a cheeks worth of ground meat, the huntress again spoke, "That looks mighty tasty."

Looking down at her white fleshy meat that was lean and extremely palatable for the asari race, the eldest maiden exclaimed, "It is delicious." Addressing the whole table with great enthusiasm, the small town huntress conveyed, "I love how they smother it with sautéed onions and ground 'shrooms." Practically drooling as she sliced another proper size chunk off. Unlike her commander, the maiden popped it in her mouth savoring every bit of it.

Finally finishing her bite, the senior officer took a sip of her burgundy colored wine and properly patted her mouth with a napkin. The yellow cloth napkins brilliantly matched the lavender table setting that closely resembled their own table setting at home. Bright pink and yellow flowers accented by small baby blue flowers drew in not only the table setting, but directly contributed to the overall beauty of the restaurant.

During numerous occasions while visiting such fine asari restaurants, Contessa heard that many of them had intentionally resembled many famous and luxurious gardens rather than dining establishments. Looking around once could see how true this was. Wood colored lattices decorated the majority of the hall and were littered with large fragrant flowers. Winding vines crawled up and over every wall in the dining room. Somehow the place seemed to have its own ecological habitat; including a soft breeze and waterfall. It was quite impressive by any means. No wonder it was a highlight to the asari culture on Ilium.

Sitting up straight to show her lover that she still remembered how to be a proper asari, Vanessia divulged, "The humans have something similar to fluken." Taking another mild sip of her wine, the captain rolled the glass stem between her fingers, as she added, "They call it chick'in." On the verge of laughter as the odd sounding word leapt off her tongue, the experienced huntress again repeated the strange word even louder this time, "Chick'in, chick'in, chick'in".

The table erupted in laughter but was pleasantly ignored by the other patrons and staff, knowing commandos often got away with murder for the jobs they had to do.

Barely recovering from the amusement, the green eyed vanguard sliced off another piece of her meat and improperly outstretched her fork towards her captain. "Wanna try it?"

Pleasingly accepting the offering, Vanessia froze in midstride when she realized she was going to lean across the table to take the meat directly from the fork with her mouth. The absentminded asari glanced at the sophisticated asari on her right and opted to simply retrieve it with her fingers instead. Licking the digits clean, the asari matron moaned loudly at the delightful taste as she watched her lover disapprovingly roll her eyes at her fellow commando's table manners. A grin and smirk thanked the young maiden for her gift as the senior officer knew not to speak again with a mouth full of food.

Practically embarrassed by her present company, the privy matron delicately massaged her temple as she readied her next bite of food; somehow hoping no one would recognize her behind the two fingers that stoked her face. On her plate was also a scrumptious piece of fluken, although nearly half the size of Shayla's. Contessa was a very light eater and at times often made Vanessia wonder if she ate at all.

Hoping to make some amends, her lover asked, "How is your dish my dear?"

With her back erect and returning her free hand to her lap, the blue asari answered, "It is very delightful. The meat was perfectly blended with a twinge of soft lavender and lemon sauce."

Peering over at her plate as she sipped her wine, Vanessia took note of how beautiful and well balanced her concubine's meal was. Next to the small piece of fluken were several dark green shoots of an organic vegetable sprinkled with garlic flakes. Also accompanying her dish was a vibrant green and purple leafy salad.

Shredding the silence that had encased the table, the eager maiden again sulked, "So why can't we show off our stuff over there?"

Taking a bit more serious tone, her senior huntress implied, "I don't think the Republics would appreciate everyone knowing when and where their strike teams are my dear."

Scanning the room and its occupants a bit more, the second youngest maiden replied, "Yeah, cuz it's not like everyone here doesn't know who we are?"

Trying to reel in the conversation the asari captain retorted, "Not everyone knows."

Rolling her eyes, Huntress Shayla proud of her asari heritage stated, "Well anyone who counts."

Plopping her chin hard on to the back of the chair, the newest recruit spat, "Oh what do those old matriarchs care for anyway?"

In an instant two stern parental glares shot from both her beloved matrons; Vanessia and Contessa. Under the silent chastisement, the junior commando promptly turned around again to face the table. A mild expression of disappointment smothered the young asari's face. Picking her fork up again to play with her food rather than eat it, Aleris brooded, "So what are we supposed to do now? Fine dine ourselves to death?"

Knowing that wasn't such an outrageous idea to her second in command, the fervent lieutenant apologized, "Sorry Contessa, I know you'd like that."

Gracefully wiping the corners of her mouth before replacing her napkin back in her lap, the alluring huntress answered, "It's ok dear. I know how you feel. You're getting restless." Turning to her lover, the wise matron suggested, "Dear, is there someone you can call and find out why there have been no missions in nearly a month."

Loosely folding her napkin in half in her lap the senior commando declared, "I will make contact first thing tomorrow morning." Continuing to address the table, "I think we all could use a little action."

As if a puppeteer had pulled her strings, the youngest asari sat up in her chair with absolute delight, "Oh goodie!"

…

Tapping her ear comm off as the call ended, the asari captain slowed her pacing as Contessa entered the doorway. With a soft rap, the matron knocked quietly on the frame. The senior officer sat heavy on the bed worriedly stroking the top of her thighs as the beautiful huntress entered.

Knowing that by the way her lover was behaving, she must have just received bad news. The nurturing matron sympathetically stroked her lovers back and shoulders. In the loveliest of tones, Huntress Contessa asked, "What is it? What did they say?"

Sucking in a gust of air, the lavender asari turned towards her lover, "Well I was right. The Matriarchy had us sitting on our hands for a reason." Wiping away imaginary sweat and stress from her forehead, Vanessia added, "We have been purposely grounded for the last two weeks."

Stunned to hear that and not grasping the reason behind the Matriarchy's decision since they had done nothing wrong, the light blue asari questioned, "But by the goddess, why?"

Slapping her long strong hands down upon her thighs, the veteran huntress turned to her lover just as confused, "They wouldn't say, but I was assured it was for a good reason and that we would be called upon on very short notice." Shaking her head still in disbelief, the commando leader recited, "Then I was instructed, 'Enjoy the break' because we are certainly going to need to be well rested for our next mission."

The captain's mistress lovingly stared in her lover's eyes, offering her non-verbal support. The two sat in silence before the pureblood could speak again. "I've been around Tessa, I could hear it in the Matriarchy's voice. Something bad, is going to go down."

Not sure of what to do, Contessa tenderly rested her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. "Well when it does, we will be there for you. I promise."

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**A/N:** And here you thought you would learn nothing today.

mol·lusk [mol-_uh_ sk]

_**noun -**___any invertebrate of the phylum Mollusca, having a soft unsegmented body and often a shell, secreted by a fold of skin (the mantle). The group includes the gastropods (snails, slugs, etc), bivalves (**"CLAMS",**mussels, etc), and cephalopods (cuttlefish, octopuses, etc)

Other words – The restaurant name The Pink Mollusk was meant to translate as... The Pink Clam…


	26. Special Note

After careful consideration, I have decided to discontinue this story, at this time. The Huntress is a joy to write and I'm grateful for all your wonderful reviews, but this story line is simply going in a different direction now. It was time to stop this chapter and move the huntresses forward into new adventures!

So, if you are interested in keeping tabs on our favorite commando's, the new adventure of 'The Huntress' series will be called Dirty Laundry. The storyline will be more complex and I hope you enjoy reading it. Please look for it to be posted within the next couple of weeks.

As always, thank you for taking a few moments of your time, to show your appreciation for my stories by leaving a review. You feedback is priceless and really makes it worth all the time spent on crafting them. Thank you.

Have a great day!


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